Eternal Life
by Deep Metal
Summary: Alternate ending to Code of Hero. Before the end can come for the warrior who saved the valley, Rattrap manages to save Dinobot's life with the spark of Protofom X. But will the Maximals be prepared for the horrifying consequences which will follow?
1. Chapter 1

**Eternal Life **

Disclaimer: Beast Wars is property of Hasbro, Mainframe, etc.

_Act I_

"Oh please, face it Dinobot, you're old technology… obsolete!" gloated Megatron. "What can you possibly do?"

By this time, the light was beginning to flicker in Dinobot's optics. He had given it his best to save the valley of early proto-humans and it had cost him dearly. His life support was on the verge of giving out and there was no more stasis lock which could save him.

Megatron towered over him, after having knocked him down quite easily. The Predacon tyrant had his own plans, to destroy the early humans and prevent the Autobots from ever receiving their assistance in the Great War. It was an ambitious plan, one which would have succeeded had Dinobot not known about it already and rushed into battle to prevent their goals from reaching fruition. He had sustained heavy damages along the way but still, he had stopped the Predacons from carrying out their genocide.

The Predacon leader towered over Dinobot and pointed his weapon at the heavily injured Dinobot.

At the moment, Dinobot saw a sharp stone lying on the ground and knew the exact answer to the question Megatron had asked him.

"Improvise."

Dinobot slammed his stick down on the stone, wedging the piece of rock in to form a makeshift axe, a primitive weapon to be sure but one which could still deal some damage.

With a frantic roar, Dinobot launched himself at Megatron and struck the Predacon, knocking him down. From Megatron's compartments, the golden disc flew out as did the spark of Protoform X.

Reaching down, Dinobot grabbed the golden disc and concentrated every last bit of his firepower towards it, obliterating it with one shot from his eye beam. Then he finally fell.

Not even realizing he had lost the spark of Rampage, Megatron looked on in horror as hundreds of shards of the golden disc fell to the valley's forest floor. The secrets to the disc were lost forever and the humans had been saved. His plan, which he had put so much preparation into, had failed in every conceivable way.

His attention was brought back to reality as several shots from the sky alerted him to the Maximals. Optimus aimed his missiles at Megatron and fired.

"So close…" Megatron cried, transforming to flight mode and flying away. "I was sooooo close!"

Rattrap gasped as he saw Dinobot's body on the floor, heavily damaged and quite notably beyond repair.

The Maximals surrounded the fallen warrior, gathering around him solemnly.

"There's gotta be something we can do," whispered Cheetor.

There was something forming at Rattrap's throat. Dinobot, despite all his pretensions, had pulled through and launched a final heroic sacrifice to save the future… their future. How could he just stand back and allow his friend's life to fade?

Rhinox shook his head sadly. "He's too far gone… even for stasis lock."

_No, no! He ain't gone! Chopperface, you're gonna pull through 'dis one!_ Rattrap bit down. He looked high and low for something… anything which would remedy the situation.

"Well fought my friend," Optimus said softly. "You saved the valley. You saved the lives of those who live here, and of those who are still to come."

A few feet away, Rattrap saw the spark of Protoform X which lay there after it had been knocked off of Megatron.

"Then there is nothing to regret," Dinobot whispered.

"No Dinobot!" Rattrap finally cried. "It isn't over! Not for you! I ain't gonna let you go!"

"Rattrap," Dinobot spoke softly. "My time has come. I have fought with every fiber in my spark for that which served honor. I have no regrets."

"Well don't leave me with my regrets!" Rattrap told him. "Now save your breath!"

He picked up the spark of Protoform X, which everyone immediately saw.

Optimus gasped. "Rattrap, you're not…"

"It's the only way!" Rattrap told them. "This is the only way we save Chopperface."

"But that's the spark of Protoform X," Rhinox pointed out.

"I know," Rattrap replied. "Rampage's spark has a self-healing mechanism. Now stand aside… ya want me to save him or not?"

Optimus and Rhinox looked at each other uneasily. Both Silverbolt and Cheetor stayed silent, not knowing what to say.

"What are you—" Dinobot looked up, his optics nearly glazed over. He was on the verge of death.

"Be quiet," Rattrap told Dinobot and opened up his chest cavity to reveal his spark chamber.

Without hesitation, Rattrap took the half of Rampage's spark out of the energon chamber and placed it within the same spark chamber as Dinobot's.

After having done that, an eerie glow pulsed through Dinobot's chest, surrounding his entire body.

----------------

"Incompetents, all of you!" Megatron bellowed in the main halls of the Darkside.

"We're, uh, sorry boss," offered Quickstrike. "But that rascally raptor got the drop on us!"

"No excuses Quickstrike!" Megatron pointed his weapon at the Maximal-turned-Predacon who then trembled. "Our mission was to destroy the early anthropoids and all of you failed."

"My apologies royalty," Inferno groveled. "If it would please you, I could lead another expedition to—"

"That will not be necessary," Megatron told Inferno. "By this point the early humans will have left the valley. It will be impossible to destroy all these scattered bands of apes."

"Then what're you mad at us about?" demanded Blackarachnia. "Didn't Dinobot defeat you as well? Why don't you share some of that blame?"

After holding back for long enough, Blackarachnia felt she had to speak out. Megatron's audacity at blaming her was simply too much to take. It wasn't her fault that the humans had scattered. She did what she could do but in the end, the team was defeated by one turncoat Predacon. Megatron was far too out of line at this point.

Apparently, Megatron felt the same about her being out of line.

"You forget your place," he gave her a dangerous glare.

"All I'm saying is what happened happened," Blackarachnia spat. "Don't blame us just because your plan failed."

"Speak to me in such a tone again," Megatron warned. "And I'll have you recycled in a most grisly manner. Is that understood?"

Finally, Blackarachnia decided to drop it.

"Yes Megatron," she lowered her head.

"And you!" Megatron glared at Rampage. "You should have been able to destroy Dinobot on the spot but yet you fell!"

"The fossilized lizard got lucky," Rampage grumbled.

"He got lucky, did he?" Megatron growled. "Or perhaps you simply weren't Predacon enough to stop him!"

"I never asked to become a Predacon," Rampage reminded Megatron angrily.

"Then perhaps you need a reminder why you are a designated member of this team," Megatron reached for the spark of Protoform X which he kept in his own compartment.

To his sudden horror, he realized it was not there. The small energon chamber in which he housed Rampage's spark was gone.

He had one thing left to remedy the situation… his quick wits.

"Do you need that reminder, Rampage?" Megatron asked, smiling as confidently as he could.

Finally, a flicker of fear flashed across Rampage's optics as he backed away.

"No…" the behemoth hissed.

"All of you are dismissed!" Megatron ordered the Predacons.

At long last, when all of the Predacons were gone for good, Megatron's knees gave way as he fell to the floor trembling in fear. He no longer had the other spark of Protoform X and he was lucky to even be standing right now, his quick wits having afforded him a few extra hours and possibly days of life. He managed to pull the wool over Rampage's eyes this time but there was no telling if he could keep up this act for long. Sooner or later the deranged psychopath would find out the truth.

And when that happened, he, Megatron, would have nowhere to run or hide.

----------------

"Is… this the Matrix?" Dinobot opened up his eyes.

He saw down on the surgical table, after what seemed like hours of numbing pain. The last thing he recalled was a battle in a valley where the Predacons had staged some sort of assault to try to wipe out some early humans. He also remembered going through all the Predacons before facing Megatron himself. Everything after that was a blank.

"Yo Chopperface," Rattrap said cheerfully. "Glad 'ta have you back online!"

"Yeah, we almost didn't think you'd make it," Rhinox confessed.

"I… I live once more?" Dinobot asked.

"Indeed you do!" Silverbolt grinned. "It is good that you have returned to the land of the living."

"This was a miracle we didn't think would happen," Optimus acknowledged.

"How did I manage to pull through?" asked Dinobot. "I was damaged beyond belief, wasn't I?"

"Well…" Optimus looked down.

For some reason, noted Dinobot, the Maximals were not eager to tell the tale of how he had managed to survive such an ordeal. Was it out of guilt? Fear? Or something else?

"It don't matter!" Rattrap chimed in. "What matters is 'dat you're back with us!"

"I… suppose that would suffice," Dinobot finally smiled at Rattrap.

"For now you need rest," Rhinox told Dinobot. "You should be feeling better in the next few days."

----------------

For the past few hours Blackarachnia waited on the cliff. This had been the meeting spot where she and a certain Maximal had been rendezvousing for the past few weeks.

None of the Predacons knew about this and she was certain that if Megatron knew, he'd have her scrapped for it. And if Tarantulas knew, boy was he in for a world of jealousy.

From the night skies, the Maximal fuzor flew down in front of Blackarachnia and transformed to robot mode.

"If it isn't ball, bright, and chivalrous," commented Blackarachnia.

"Yes, I suppose that would be an apt description," Silverbolt nodded.

"So what's been going on in your side of the fence?" Blackarachnia asked.

"As a matter of fact, I had been meaning to talk to you about that," Silverbolt said, bringing up the topic nervously.

"Yeah? Spit it out," ordered Blackarachnia.

"You see, during the Predacon attack on the Valley, you and the others inflicted near-grievous harm onto Dinobot," explained Silverbolt. "Was it really necessary?"

"Hey, he attacked first," Blackarachnia shrugged. "What was I supposed to do? Sit there and let him scrap me?"

"No, but…" Silverbolt attempted to go on.

"For your information, he didn't have to leap into battle," Blackarachnia pointed an accusing claw at Silverbolt. "It's that dumb saurian's own fault he nearly got slagged trying to protect a bunch of banana-peeling knuckle draggers."

Silverbolt lowered his head in shame.

"Hey, he survived, didn't he?" asked Blackarachnia.

"Yes, but Blackarachnia, you don't understand the implications of what transpired."

"And what would that be?" demanded Blackarachnia.

"Optimus had explained it to all of us," Silverbolt eludicated. "The anthropoids you attacked are going to evolve into humans, the exact same humans who help the Autobots win the Great War."

"So you're saying that if I helped wipe out those apes, it could've affected my existence?" Blackarachnia eyed Silverbolt suspiciously.

"You did come from a Maximal protoform after all," Silverbolt reminded her.

"Point taken," Blackarachnia ran a claw down Silverbolt's chest. "But what's done is done. Now if you don't mind, let's talk about something more interesting…"

----------------

"_No… no!" Dinobot ran down the deep valley._

"_You cannot escape your destiny," a voice called out._

"_To the Pit with you!" Dinobot cried. "You know nothing about my destiny!"_

"_Then why do you run from it?" the voice demanded. "Do you fear it?"_

_Finally, Dinobot stopped running._

"_I fear nothing," he turned around the told the voice defiantly._

"_Then are you prepared for what is to come?" demanded the voice._

_A flash of light blinded Dinobot. By the time the ray disappeared he was standing before a battlefield with the broken and scattered bodies of the Maximals._

"_What… what is this?" demanded Dinobot._

"_This is the future you are witnessing," the voice said again._

"_Who did this to them?!" Dinobot drew his sword._

"_Do you not understand? The voice asked. "You are the one who has caused this."_

"_No…" Dinobot was taken affront. "You lie!"_

"_This is the truth," the voice replied. "Your life was saved… at a heavy price which all of your friends will pay."_

"_Silence!" Dinobot growled at the voice. "This will not come to pass! I will not allow it!"_

"_You have little say in the matter. The saving of your life will bear terrible consequences."_

Finally, Dinobot woke.

He looked around frantically, half-expecting his Maximal teammates to be dead on the floor, but they were not.

He had been having these prophetic dreams for the past few days. Every one of them involved an ominous scenario of some sort. Many involved him standing over the bodies of his friends, but some occasionally had him see the bodies of the Predacons lying on the ground.

Frankly, Dinobot did not even know what to make of these dreams or whether or not he should share them with his friends.

"Hey, you feeling alright?" Rattrap entered into the room, followed up by Optimus, Cheetor, and Rhinox.

Dinobot turned around. Ever since he had come back, his relationship with the Maximals had been better than ever. All had been forgiven and his friendship with them was repaired. And in all honestly, he could not have asked for more.

"Yes, I believe I have made a full recovery," Dinobot told them.

"Careful now," Rhinox instructed. "You might feel a bit of disorientation after I take off these tubes."

Slowly, Rhinox removed the medical tubes from Dinobot and helped the Maximal raptor to stand up.

"Yes, good as new," Dinobot stretched out his hand.

"We'll be out in a little while with Silverbolt for a daily patrol," Optimus told Dinobot. "You're welcome to come if you'd like."

"I believe I will," Dinobot smiled. "It has been some time since I have been out to test my abilities."

----------------

"So, it appears Dinobot is feeling better," Megatron commented as he watched the screen through his spy camera.

"After all that damage he took, you'd think the varmint would keel over and die!" said Quickstrike as his cobra hand hissed.

"How he managed to survive all that is the real question," Blackarachnia said thoughtfully.

"Yes, considering the fact that he had overridden stasis lock," Megatron agreed. "I was there to hear it."

"Shall we go and dispose of him, Royalty?" asked Inferno eagerly.

Megatron put a hand on his chin and contemplated briefly. Dinobot had been responsible for one of the biggest setbacks in his plan and it was only fair to pay the turncoat back. After all, if Dinobot could take such a brutal punishment and survive, there was always an even more sadistic punishment he, Megatron, could inflict on the traitor.

"Yes, we shall," Megatron got up. "Dinobot will not be so lucky a second time!"

----------------

"Hey Dinoboob," Rattrap jabbed at Dinobot with his tail sword. "You gonna lighten up now that you're back?"

"Oh, I shall," Dinobot snarled at Rattrap. "Right after I pick the rat morsels from my teeth."

"I'm real scared," Rattrap taunted. "You gonna back that up or what?"

Narrowly, Rattrap leaped out of the way as the raptor's jaw clamped down on where his hand was.

"He's back," Optimus looked at Cheetor who nodded.

"No, they're back," Cheetor pointed towards the bickering Dinobot and Rattrap.

"Dinobot's made a full recovery," Rhinox informed Optimus, along with Cheetor and Silverbolt. "He should be as fit as a fiddle now."

"Tell me," Dinobot walked up to Rhinox. "Were there any adverse effects with my spark?"

"Surprisingly no," Rhinox replied. "Your spark has also made a full recovery despite the stress placed on it."

"It does seem strange however," Dinobot admitted. "That long after stasis lock was no longer an option, I would wake up fully recovered."

"After I'm through with you traitor, you won't even have enough time to override stasis lock," a voice from above told them.

"Megatron!" Optimus looked up.

At the very top of the canyon stood Megatron and the Predacon forces. Rampage, Blackarachnia, Waspinator, Quickstrike, and Inferno were there. The only member missing was Tarantulas since he had previously decided to quit the team, being tired of taking orders from Megatron.

Megatron charged up his cannon and fired. The shot hit the ground in the center of the Maximal ring, causing them all to scatter. All the rest of the Predacons followed suite and began firing upon the hapless Maximals.

"Predacons attack!" shouted Megatron.

All the Predacons, sans Rampage, rushed down to attack the Maximals. Something was holding Rampage there, preventing him from attacking.

The behemoth looked down curiously. Something strange was going on with Dinobot who had made a full recovery.

He felt something almost immediately. Dinobot's spark was subconsciously responding to his own for some reason. Almost as if the spark of that lizard was calling for him.

"Interesting," muttered Rampage.

Megatron fired two shots at Optimus who rolled behind a rock. Optimus took out his gun and returned fire, catching Megatron in the shoulder with a blast. Angered, Megatron's shoulder cannons appeared and blasted the rocks above Optimus, sending them crashing down on the Maximal commander.

For good measure, charged up his cannon and fired another shot at Optimus, who had now been pinned down.

From out of the air, Dinobot leaped in front of the blast and took it straight in the chest, being knocked down in the process.

Megatron smiled. Perhaps he could take out two birds with one stone on the same day.

But suddenly, almost inexplicably, Dinobot leaped back on both feet, snarling angrily as he drew his weapon.

"You want to prolong your death?" Megatron grinned widely. "Good… as do I!"

Meanwhile Inferno fired several blasts at the Maximals, scattering them further.

From behind Rattrap, Quickstrike came up and tackled the Maximal.

"Hey, leggo, ya ugly bug!" Rattrap held on to Quickstrike's cobra hand to prevent the injection of cyber-venom.

Rhinox finally got out of the rock he was hiding underneath and fired several machine gun spurts back at Inferno. Cheetor also fired back at Waspinator, exchanging firepower. Only Silverbolt was the one not engaged in a firefight.

Blackarachnia kicked at him but Silverbolt caught the kick and wrapped his arm around her neck.

"I do not want to hurt you," he whispered.

"You won't," she winked. "Now be a good boy and play along."

Blackarachnia stomped her foot down on Silverbolt. The fuzor howled in pain but Blackarachnia turned around and kicked him across the jaw.

Both Megatron and Dinobot faced each other, not making a move. They stared off, searching for any sign of weakness in the other.

Finally they ran across the ground, adjacent from each other until Dinobot made the first move by blasting at Megatron with his optic lasers.

Megatron raised his cutlass cannon and blocked the lasers but left himself open. Dinobot moved in on the Predacon, raising a hand and driving it into Megatron's stomach. Megatron coughed and stumbled back. He did not expect a non-Transmetal to hurt him so much in just one attack.

The next thing Megatron knew, a sword came swinging down at his head. Quickly he raised his cutlass blaster and blocked the swing. With a powerful kick to Dinobot's solar plexus, Megatron sent Dinobot falling back.

"Hmph, same old technology," Megatron smiled. "Same old trash."

"Believe me," Dinobot beckoned with an open hand. "I'm just getting started."

Something in Dinobot's tone infuriated Megatron even further. In a rage, Megatron bellowed and charged. Dinobot raised his sword and did the same.

Megatron brought up his cutlass blaster and brought it down on Dinobot who blocked it. Again, Megatron swung down his cutlass blaster only for Dinobot to step-side him. Dinobot angled his sword and brought it up, slashing right across Megatron's chest.

"Agh!" Megatron clutched his wound in pain.

Dinobot snarled and tackled Megatron. The two rolled on the ground before Megatron kicked Dinobot off forcefully.

Dinobot fell back, his spinal column crashing against a boulder. Before he could recover, Megatron slammed into him, pinning him to the floor.

Megatron punched Dinobot again and again, taking cruel satisfaction in doing so.

"I'll send you to the grave permanently!" Megatron snarled, raising his cutlass blaster in the air to deliver the final blow.

Sparks flew from the damage Dinobot had taken across the helmet from Megatron's blows. He ignored the pain, however, and unleashed an even more powerful optic blast, this one striking Megatron in the face.

"Raaaaah!" shouted Megatron, flinging wildly.

Taking the opportunity, Dinobot wriggled his arm free from underneath Megatron's knee and grabbed his sword, plunging it deep into Megatron's stomach.

Megatron sputtered, coughing up mech fluid. At seeing this, Dinobot sadistically twisted and jammed the sword in deeper until Megatron fell off of him.

"I'll finish you…" Megatron spat, getting up and aiming his blaster at Dinobot despite the fact that his strength was already leaving him.

Dinobot moved in quickly, grabbing the cutlass blaster and yanking it from Megatron's arm, then turning around and slamming the blunt end of the tail into Megatron's face to knock him back.

Megatron had had enough by now. He turned on his jet engines and began to fly off. Dinobot saw this, however, and threw his own sword, jamming it into Megatron's propellers and preventing takeoff.

"No…" Megatron realized.

The tyrant turned around to see Dinobot standing there with his very own weapon pointed at him.

Dinobot clasped the weapon tightly and fired a powerful round right into the open wound on Megatron's stomach. Sparks and mechanical parts flew out everywhere in the explosion as the Predacon leader collapsed on the spot.

Walking over to Megatron's body, Dinobot kicked it over callously.

The rest of the Maximals and Predacons stopped their fighting to see what was going on. As Quickstrike looked up, Rattrap kneed him in the groin and threw the anguishing fuzor off of him.

"Now you will know what it's like to be at the mercy of another," he told the now unconscious Megatron.

With that he raised his sword.

"Dinobot, what're you doing?"

Dinobot turned around to see Optimus standing there.

"I am ending this," he told his leader.

"Dinobot, you're a Maximal now," Optimus reminded him. "You know this isn't how we do things."

"Hmm, yes you're right," Dinobot put away his sword. "But I ask you Optimus, how do we contain him?"

Optimus placed a hand on his chin before coming to a decision.

"We take him prisoner," Optimus said firmly.

"I'm outta here," Blackarachnia leaped off the ledge of a cliff and swung with one of her spider-webs.

"Waspinator gone too!" the Predacon scout flew away as quick as he could.

"What? No!" shouted Inferno. "How dare you abandon the Royalty?"

"You want to join him?" Rhinox asked as the Maximals surrounded Inferno.

"I will not go down without a fight!" declared Inferno who took out one of his guns.

Immediately, two bright green lasers struck him and knocked him down.

"You just did," Dinobot grinned.

"Nice one chopperface!"complimented Rattrap. "High five!"

The two Maximals slapped their hands another.

----------------

"You think this will hold me, Primal?" demanded Megatron.

The purple tyrant was surrounded from all sides with energy bars, one of the makeshift holding cells in the Axalon. Inferno was in a second cell opposite to him.

"Yes, soon we will be free of your wretched bars and watch as you and your Maximals burn!" Inferno threatened.

Optimus rolled his eyes. "This should hold you two until we make contact with Cybertron."

"Are you certain this is a good idea?" asked Dinobot. "Megatron has been known to be slippery."

"We can only hope to contain him for now," Optimus said uneasily. "A few days or weeks' time is all we need."

----------------

Dinobot tossed and turned in his sleep. Right now he was in beast mode but something was amiss despite his current state of rest.

Growling in a low tone, he fumbled with his claws, scratching at the walls next to him. He then flipped around to his other side, snarling as he did.

"_Unleash it, all of it!" the voice encouraged. "Let loose the bestial savagery which lurks within you!"_

"_Silence!" Dinobot growled, clutching his head. "Leave and bother me no more!"_

"_I am here to stay Dinobot," the voice replied. "I am a part of you and you will learn to appreciate that cold, hard fact."_

"_Whoever you are," threatened Dinobot, "you will not have the pleasure of twisting my core for your perverse agenda!"_

_Flames surrounded Dinobot from all sides at the low voice began laughing ominously._

"_My dear lizard, you've lost the moment you returned from the dead."_

Suddenly, Dinobot opened his eyes, now glowing a dark shade of red. Frantically, he turned towards his door and silently left without another word.

----------------

"Glad you could meet me here," Blackarachnia turned to the sky as Silverbolt flew down.

"It is my honor," Silverbolt greeted her.

"Now that old grapeface has been captured, I'm running out of options," Blackarachnia informed Silverbolt.

"You are correct," Silverbolt acknowledged. "But perhaps the loss dealt to the Predacons can be turned into an opportunity."

"What kind of opportunity?" asked Blackarachnia.

The wide smile on Silverbolt's face told her all that she needed to know.

"Okay, forget I asked," Blackarachnia shook her head. "I like you and all, but I don't think I want to be a Maximal."

Silverbolt sighed. "Very well… but you did just say that you liked me, correct?"

"Hah!" Blackarachnia walked over towards Silverbolt and draped her arms over him. "Why else would I keep meeting you in private like this?"

Before Silverbolt could reply, she embraced him and connected her lips with his. The two savored their moment before something crashed through the undergrowth.

Dinobot stood before them in robot mode, eyes glowing red and teeth shining in the moonlight.

Normally Silverbolt would have been concerned about being caught in the act of fraternizing with the Predacon Blackarachnia but this time he could tell that something was amiss. There was something clearly wrong here.

"Dinobot, is that you?" he asked.

"What's with him?" demanded Blackarachnia.

Oil began leaking down Dinobot's chin, lending him a deranged and almost savage look. In his hand was the neck of a deer he had just slain, blood splattering everywhere.

"Is… something the matter?" asked Silverbolt again.

Dinobot unleashed a bloodcurdling roar and charged.


	2. Chapter 2

**Eternal Life**

_Act II_

The first thing Dinobot did was slam into Silverbolt and knock the fuzor down. Then he turned his sights to Blackarachnia.

"Still object to me attacking your friend?" Blackarachnia looked at Silverbolt.

She drew her crossbow and fired. Dinobot flipped his sword upward and deflected the missile in a single blow. He hissed savagely and launched himself at her, holding his sword to his side as if to impale her.

Blackarachnia leaped over Dinobot as the raptorbot impaled the tree. As she landed, however, two eye beams struck her in the stomach and sent her flying back.

"Blackarachnia!" shouted Silverbolt.

Ally or not, Dinobot had attacked Blackarachnia and for no apparent reason. In fact, reason seemed to have already left Dinobot's circuitry, judging from his current state. There was no way he could take this lying down.

Silverbolt fired two wing missiles at Dinobot, which the raptor promptly dodged.

"Dinobot, get a hold of yourself!" shouted Silverbolt.

Dinobot rolled across the ground in response and slammed his fist into Silverbolt's stomach and then his chin. Then he struck Silverbolt in the chest with a side-kick, knocking the Maximal fuzor down.

"No!" shouted Blackarachnia who kicked at Dinobot.

Having already seen the attack, Dinobot grabbed Blackarachnia's heel and flung her body away.

As Silverbolt up to counter him, Dinobot flipped his sword around and stabbed Silverbolt right through the spark chamber.

Silverbolt looked down. At the center of his chest had always been a small, red dome which housed his spark. Up until now, he had always had the good fortune of never being on the receiving end of any attack which threatened his spark chamber. But now, that had changed.

"D-Dinobot, you—" Silverbolt coughed before collapsing.

For reasons unknown, Dinobot did not take out his sword. He simply let it remain in Silverbolt while standing there quietly.

There was no ascent to the sky this time for Silverbolt's spark. It simply dissipated into thin air from the fatal wound that it had received.

Finally, the color in Dinobot's eyes changed from a bright glowing red, back to his usual dark red hue.

"W-What happened?" he muttered.

Then he saw Silverbolt's lifeless body there before him. Everything became clear now despite everything else having been a blur in the past few cycles.

"What have I done?!" Dinobot grabbed his helmet. "I… I…"

He was interrupted by a bone-crunching kick into his head. Dinobot fell back against the cold jungle floor.

"You killed him!" shouted a furious Blackarachnia.

Dinobot got up wearily. "Wait…"

The black widow spider was not in a forgiving mood. With a frenzied scream, she blasted every inch of Dinobot's body with a spray of machine gun fire, not even relenting for a second. At this point she was not even fully aware of her actions. But somewhere, deep in the depths of her mind, a loss had hit her… a loss of someone who had come to mean something to her despite her outward denials. It was a loss of the first 'bot who had come to accept her for who she was and still love her despite her flaws.

Silverbolt was gone forever. And she was going to make Dinobot pay until the Pit froze over.

After what seemed like forever, Blackarachnia stopped firing through the machine guns mounted on her legs. Not because she willingly stopped, but because she had run out of ammo.

At this point, Dinobot's body had been blasted nearly to pieces. He stumbled back, his entire body having been nearly torn apart by hot lead.

Blackarachnia took out his gun and fired a missile which struck Dinobot and knocked him clear on his back. The she-spider was not done yet and leaped onto Dinobot's chest, punching him and throttling him repeatedly.

Finally, she raised an open claw, ready to tear out Dinobot's throat.

"For Silverbolt!" she cried.

A hand reached out and grabbed Blackarachnia by the claw.

She had been so focused on punishing Dinobot that she had not even seen Rampage who snuck up on her quite easily.

"That will be enough," he told her.

With that, Rampage flung her into a tree with enough force to smash her through the wood entirely.

Helplessly, Blackarachnia lay there, attempting to shake off the great pain throbbing throughout her entire frame and face the murderous Protoform X.

"Oh don't bother getting up," Rampage placed a giant foot on her. "I promise this will hurt you more than it hurts me."

* * *

"Royalty, have you devised a plan?" asked Inferno.

"Don't interrupt me, Inferno," Megatron ordered the fire ant. "Such moments of inspiration will require silence."

Megatron toyed with the laser bars for a moment, briefly allowing his finger to be zapped by it to test out its full effects.

Apparently, a situation like this would require real work and well laid-out plans. At some point or another, the Maximals would make contact with Cybertron and when that time came, the Maximal regime would be breathing down his neck. He still needed a way to escape and carry out his ultimate plans before any Maximal ships came.

Right now he was not certain what time of the day it was. He and Inferno had both been imprisoned in an area where there were no windows. So far, he had not dozed off yet but for all he knew, it might've been as black as night in the outside world.

Suddenly, an explosion from above rattled Megatron's thoughts.

"Warning, breach in hull!" the alarms went off wildly.

The laser bars around them disappeared as Megatron looked up. A part of the ceiling had been blown open, revealing the night sky.

Tarantulas peered down at them.

"You owe me for this Megatron!" Tarantulas told him in a confident tone.

"Hmph, very well," Megatron agreed.

"They've escaped!" Cheetor's voice was heard.

Cheetor and Rhinox emerged into the room but Megatron and Inferno both fired off two shots.

Megatron's blast hit Rhinox and took him down while Inferno's shot knocked Cheetor out with a single blow. After that, the two of them flew through the opening and escaped with Tarantulas who leaped onto Inferno's back.

"Tell me something Tarantulas," Megatron demanded as they entered into the atmosphere. "Why did you choose to help me?"

"Because as much as I want to see you slagged," Tarantulas explained. "I hate the thought of giving the Maximals the advantage in this war that much more."

"Hmph, you are a hard nut to crack," Megatron smiled. "But perhaps one day I'll find a big enough hammer."

* * *

"You okay?" Optimus helped Rhinox up.

"Yeah, but Megatron and Inferno escaped," Rhinox rubbed his head to soothe the pain.

"What'll we do now?" asked Cheetor.

"I'm not sure, but alert Dinobot and Silverbolt," Optimus ordered. "We'll need to group together and—"

"Bad news, Optimus!" Rattrap rushed into the room. "Bird-dog and Chopperface are gone!"

"Oh no," alarm flooded into Optimus Primal's expressions.

* * *

"Time to wake up," a soothing voice told Dinobot.

"Where am I?" Dinobot asked.

Slowly opening his eyes, Dinobot looked first into the sky and then onto his body.

Inexplicably, it had been completely healed despite all that damage he had taken from the female Predacon. His limbs were as good as new and he no longer felt any physical pain. And from what he recalled, he had not even been put in a CR chamber.

A few feet away he saw the dead body of Silverbolt, lying there peacefully.

That was when the horrible remembrance hit him.

He had been the one who killed Silverbolt brutally and without mercy. Dinobot shook his head, trying to clear it. Currently he could not even recall why he committed such an act. The Maximal fuzor had done nothing to deserve it and he had always had a good amount of respect for Silverbolt.

Clutching his head, Dinobot closed his optics in shame. The murder he committed was so low, and so dishonorable that he could not even stand the sight of himself.

Then he opened his optics and saw something even more horrifying. It was the mangled body of Blackarachnia. Her chest and stomach had been torn open and her head had been torn off. A few scattered pieces of her body also lay on the ground in several areas. Dinobot almost felt physically ill. Had he done this as well?

"It's about time you came back to us," Rampage appeared before Dinobot in crab mode, holding a small spark in his grip.

Dinobot got up, wondering what had just transpired.

"This?" Rampage held the spark of Blackarachnia in his hand. "Don't worry, you didn't kill her if that's what you're worried about. I took good care of her."

Dinobot was not sure whether he should rebuke Rampage for what he had done or stay still and observe. He had no love lost for Blackarachnia and at the best of times, he still regarded her as an enemy. But there was still something so stomach-churning about what Rampage had done that somewhere deep in his core, Dinobot felt a small flicker of protest at the act Protoform X had committed.

Without warning, Rampage bit down on Blackarachnia's spark, extinguishing it while savoring its last moments of suffering.

"You just—" Dinobot protested.

"What?" Rampage demanded. "Killed her? Like you didn't do the same to lover boy here!"

Dinobot bit back another accusation. He knew Rampage was right.

"I had my suspicions initially," Rampage told Dinobot. "But being here and seeing what you've done proved them right."

"What?" asked Dinobot.

"My spark resides in you," Rampage replied. "Even as we speak, I can feel its power pulsating through your system, changing you slowly."

"You lie!" Dinobot snarled. "My spark chamber does not hold your twisted spark!"

"Oh no?" Rampage sneered. "Then how do you explain your actions tonight?"

"I… can't," Dinobot finally confessed. "I gave in to the unthinkable and committed a base, dishonorable act. I do not even know why. Everything I did is a blur to me."

"Don't think of it as dishonorable," Rampage urged. "Think of it as an act of salvation for their poor sparks."

"Feh," spat Dinobot. "And eating a live spark is salvation?"

"It is," said Rampage. "Considering the fact you slew her beloved and traumatized her."

Dinobot fell silent again in guilt.

"What I did was send her to the afterlife where they could be together again," Rampage stretched out his hand for emphasis. "That's what's important after all… nevermind the fact I tortured her for a few hours before she could finally arrive at the pearly gates of the Matrix to be with the fuzor."

Dinobot bristled at Rampage's explanation. The crab was twisted no doubt, but in a way he was correct.

Suddenly he felt a pain in his chest rising. Bending over, Dinobot clutched his stomach.

"What is happening to me?!" he yelled.

"You're undergoing a metamorphosis," Rampage described. "One which will remake you in my image."

"You lie!" shouted Dinobot. "I am nothing like you!"

"Are you?" Rampage cocked an eye ridge.

"Don't mock me!" Dinobot raised his sword threateningly.

"I only mock the old Dinobot," Rampage explained, "the one who believed in his silly ideals of honor."

"Enough!" Dinobot charged.

At this point, Rampage did not have to try too hard. All it took was one punch to the solar plexus and Dinobot was down on the ground.

"Sleep for now," Rampage whispered to Dinobot.

There was still, at the moment, enough time for Dinobot to become fully aware of the fate which lay ahead for him, noted Rampage. And he, Protoform X, would be there to see Dinobot's transformation to its finish.

He had considered simply ripping apart Dinobot and taking back his spark but the developments that had taken place had piqued Rampage's interest to such a degree that he had to see this through to the end.

"When you wake up," Rampage stroked his chin. "You will be remade in my image."

* * *

"Oh man, this ain't happening," Rattrap clutched his head and looked down upon the mutilated corpse of Silverbolt.

"I don't believe this," Optimus lowered his head.

The Maximals, after having searched for hours, had finally found Silverbolt. His body had been found in the forests and so had Blackarachnia's. For whatever reason, the two of them were found together, not too far apart.

As for the exact reasons why they were there at the same time, nobody was quite sure why, though both Optimus and Rattrap had their suspicions, however minor it was.

Blackarachnia's body was in even worse shape than Silverbolt's. She had been torn apart, limb from limb and pieces of her still lay strewn across the ground to such an extent that none of them wished to come too close. There were only two suspects they could think of who would do such a thing to her, Tarantulas and Rampage.

However much Tarantulas hated Blackarachnia, though, he was still not capable of doing something of this magnitude. And that meant there was only one suspect left.

"This is the work of Rampage alright," Rhinox deduced, shaking his head.

"And, eh," Rattrap gulped, choking back the emotion in his voice. "What about Silverbolt here?"

Rhinox kneeled down and examined Silverbolt. His body had been less defiled than Blackarachnia's though he still had not been treated with the utmost of respect.

Suddenly, Rhinox noticed something, the red dome on Silverbolt's chest had been pierced, or stabbed through to be precise. A weapon which had been used for thrusting was the one responsible. It most likely had been stabbed right through Silverbolt, extinguishing his spark completely and killing him.

"We lost a good Maximal," Optimus said softly.

"Yeah," Cheetor bowed his head sadly.

"Let's take his body back," Optimus finally said to his crew. "Giving him a decent recycling is the least we can do."

"What about her?" Cheetor pointed to the slain Blackarachnia.

For a while Optimus had to think it over. Blackarachnia was not a Maximal by any stretch but at this point, she was no longer a threat to them.

"We… take her back as well," Optimus finally decided.

* * *

"_Your fear is so delicious!"the voice told Dinobot._

"_This cannot be," Dinobot sank to his knees. "I've slain a fellow Maximal!"_

"_You should be proud," the voice replied. "You've taken the first step already!"_

"_Silence!" Dinobot cried. "You are the one who brought dishonor onto my name!"_

"_Honor matters very little to me," the voice said contemptuously._

_Suddenly, a dark wave of energy surrounded Dinobot, enveloping him from all sides as the Maximal warrior growled in fear and anger. Finally, the black tentacles engulfed him completely._

Dinobot woke up inside the cave Rampage had brought him with a tremendous, ear-splitting roar which surprised even Protoform X.

"Looks like you're awake," Rampage commented.

From the side of Dinobot's helmet, two horns erupted from the side, growing to tremendous length as the rest of his body began to enlarge in bulk as well. Dinobot's fangs, though ordinarily sharp in their own right, began to protrude, lending him a demonic appearance. Dinobot's eyes glowed with a purple and black aura as his head arched back, screaming in agony.

"Oh please," Rampage said dismissively. "Stop being so overdramatic."

"Make it stop!" Dinobot looked at Rampage almost pleadingly.

"What?" demanded Rampage.

"The pain… make it stop!" insisted Dinobot with a much deeper voice than before.

"What do you expect me to do?" Rampage shrugged. "Give you a CR bath and make the pain go away?"

Dinobot lunged at Rampage with five digits on his hand resembling that of a human. The sharp claws tore across Rampage's chest, leaving behind a very surprised X.

"Didn't think you could do that," Rampage looked down.

Immediately, the wounds on his chest healed as if he had never been cut.

"You're getting stronger," Rampage crooned. "Good!"

"W-What have I become?!" Dinobot slammed a fist into the cave wall.

"My dear Dinobot, you've become that which most 'bots can only dream of," Rampage informed him. "You have become truly immortal."

* * *

The funeral pyre for Silverbolt was solemn and quiet. The war had taken a toll on them and more and more Maximal lives were being lost in the battle.

"And let us remember Silverbolt," concluded Optimus. "For the exemplary life he lived as a Maximal."

Though Blackarachnia was also on top of the funeral pyre along with Silverbolt, Optimus could not find any right words to say so he remained silent about her.

Rhinox, Rattrap, and Cheetor bowed their heads as the body of Silverbolt and Blackarachnia were fully recycled and their particles were scattered into the air.

"Some day, huh?" Rattrap said glumly.

"It gets worse," Rhinox finally admitted.

"You mean besides Dinobot not being here?" asked Cheetor.

"Well, when I examined Silverbolt, his spark chamber had been pierced with a weapon designed for thrusting and stabbing," Rhinox told them.

"Do you mean to say—" Optimus began.

"I hate to say it," Rhinox said solemnly. "But it was Dinobot's weapon that pierced Silverbolt's spark."

"No… no!" Rattrap backed away. "This ain't true. That ain't right!"

"Rattrap," Optimus pointed out softly. "We have to face the possibility that—"

"There is no possibility!" Rattrap yelled. "Dinobot didn't do this!"

With that, Rattrap transformed to vehicle mode and sped off.

"Let's give him some time," Rhinox's shoulders sagged. "He just needs to be alone for right now."

* * *

"Feeling better now?" asked Rampage.

"The pain… it's stopped," Dinobot looked down at his new body.

"Do you realize where we are?" Rampage inquired.

"No, where?" Dinobot asked.

Dinobot felt no more pain, but something new. It was a feeling akin to numbness. His mind also felt a strange, exhilarating sensation, one that came with the removal of all restraint.

Rampage beckoned for Dinobot to follow him. After a few steps, they went outside the cave and only a few feet away stood the Darkside.

"We're near Predacon territory!" Dinobot hissed.

"Yes, and do you know why I brought you here?" Rampage purred.

"No," Dinobot looked at Rampage inquisitively.

"Because you, Dinobot, are the hero," Rampage answered a surprised Dinobot.

"What are you getting at?" asked Dinobot.

"It is the hero's quintessential duty to stop evil, is it not?" Rampage chuckled. "Ho ho ho…"

"That would be correct," Dinobot pointed a sword at Rampage. "And you are that evil!"

"Attacking me would do no good," Rampage stretched out both arms. "I'm only the victim in all this… the true villain in this all is none other than Megatron."

Dinobot steadied his head carefully. A new flood of information entered into his circuitry, causing him to remember all that Megatron had committed, all the suffering and death he had caused during his attack on the Valley.

"Megatron's plan is to change history," Rampage reminded Dinobot. "He attempted it before and he will doubtlessly do it again! You, hero, are the one who must end it!"

"Yes, yes," Dinobot finally nodded. "He must be stopped!"

Though his first temptation was to attack Rampage, Dinobot could not help but almost comply with what Rampage was saying. He did not know why but it was as if Rampage's every suggestion had become a command he could not disobey. Rampage was not mind-controlling him and the behemoth certainly didn't have the tools of Tarantulas to engage in such a task, but Rampage had something much more powerful… the power of persuasion.

And he, Dinobot, had fallen under that persuasion for reasons unknown to him.

"Megatron!" Dinobot howled, running towards the Darkside. "Come out and face us!"

The first soldier to meet him in the field was Waspinator. Before the Predacon flier could even shoot, Dinobot pummeled the wasp with an optic beam so powerful that it sent Waspinator flying into the distance.

"Slag, I wanted a piece of him first," Rampage muttered. He had always wanted to torture Waspinator but now the small Predacon was too far away.

Still, however, there was the main course within the Darkside.

* * *

"What is Rampage doing?!" Megatron glared into the monitor. "And is that Dinobot with him?"

"Hull breach!" the Predacon computer announced. "Units Rampage and Dinobot have entered the premises."

"Aw slag," Quickstrike muttered. "This can't be good!"

Megatron got up, furious. It was very possible now that Rampage figured out he didn't have his spark anymore and was gearing up for payback. Somehow, he had brought Dinobot along with him to carry it out.

"I will protect you, Royalty!" declared Inferno.

"Why is that accursed reptile helping Rampage?" Megatron wondered aloud.

Then it hit him. Dinobot had had his spark fused with the essence of Protoform X's spark to bring him back from the brink of death. That was how he had survived the attack on the valley despite suffering extreme damage.

"Oh no," Megatron muttered.

An explosion rocked the room as Rampage and Dinobot appeared before them.

"Oh no is right," Rampage looked at Megatron with a bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes.

Rampage aimed his rocket launcher at Megatron and fired. Megatron barely had enough time to fly into the air on his jets to avoid the shot.

"You will not harm the Royalty!" Inferno shouted at Dinobot and fired at him.

Dinobot took the shot to his chest without wavering and allowed it to damage him. He brushed the smoke off his chest and then leaped up at Inferno, slicing off his gun arm with one mighty slash.

"Raaaaaaagh!" screamed Inferno in agony.

Dinobot slashed down on Inferno again and again. He then spun around and drove his foot into Inferno's midsection with a spinning sidekick.

The sidekick possessed enough momentum to hurl Inferno across the room and slam him into the wall.

As Inferno slid down, he fell on his back and Dinobot pounced on him. Using both hands, Dinobot dug both hands right into Inferno's chest area and tore apart his chest with one swift motion, roaring in fury as he did.

There was no feasible way Inferno could fight back at this point and Dinobot realized it. He sank both claws into Inferno's exposed spark chamber and yanked out the fire ant's spark violently.

With a savage roar, he brought his teeth down onto it, biting and tearing into it savagely until at last, the spark was extinguished. Inferno's head slowly arched back as a final reflex motion until he moved no more.

"Grraaaaah!" roard Dinobot into the air with a bloodcurdling cry.

Suddenly, a blur of yellow and blue leaped onto him from behind.

Quickstrike grabbed hold of Dinobot and sank his cobra fangs into Dinobot's chest, pumping his every last drop of cyber-venom into the deranged Maximal.

Dinobot roared angrily, thrashing about wildly until he threw Quickstrike off. Then he collapsed.

"Whew, it's over now," Quickstrike sighed.

But it was not over as Quickstrike soon found out. Dinobot heaved himself back up and glared at Quickstrike with a look so baleful and sadistic that the Predacon fuzor trembled.

"Uh oh," Quickstrike backed away.

"You thought your cyber-venom would stop me, worm?" Dinobot closed in on Quickstrike. "You thought wrong!"

"Hey now," Quickstrike attempted to reason with the savage Dinobot. "We're both civilized 'bots, ain't we? Maybe we can talk it over…?"

Promptly, Dinobot grabbed Quickstrike by the face and slammed him into the wall.

"Leggo!" shouted Quickstrike.

"I've been wanting to do this for a long time!" Dinobot hissed.

Putting all his strength behind one single blow, Dinobot penetrated Quickstrike's chest with a single thrust, ripping through the metal and circuitry of the fuzor and even penetrating the wall behind him.

"Ugh…" Quickstrike coughed up mech fluid violently as he spasmed uncontrollably in Dinobot's grip.

Dinobot grinned and left the neon green mech fluid flow down his arm. He felt a rush of excitement as he watched the fuzor suffer slowly at his hands.

"You are nothing but a diseased toad!" Dinobot snarled. "I derive great satisfaction from snuffing out your worthless life!"

"K-K…" Quickstrike managed to cough out.

"What was that?" demanded Dinobot.

Quickstrike could bear the pain no more. At this point, he would rather die than let himself be tortured to death.

"KILL ME!" he shouted.

"Gladly," Dinobot finally decided to oblige.

He grasped the spark within Quickstrike's body and slowly began squeezing.

* * *

Tarantulas would have never expected the carnage he was now witnessing within just thirty minutes of having left the base.

"By the Pit…" he muttered.

Dinobot heard him and turned around with a spark in hand. Judging from the body which lay close to his feet, Tarantulas could only conclude that it belonged to Quickstrike.

"What have you done?!" Tarantulas took a step back.

Dinobot crushed the spark in his hand, extinguishing Quickstrike's lifeforce just as he had extinguished Inferno's.

"I ended their pitiful existence," Dinobot stared at Tarantulas hungrily. "And to you, I shall bestow upon the same honor!"

"Oh no!" Tarantulas transformed to vehicle mode and drove off wildly.

Transforming to his new beast mode, Dinobot's entire body arched forward as he changed into a red and black Carnotaurus with horns on his head and demonic blue eyes. Fixing his glance on his new pray, Dinobot began chasing after Tarantulas.

* * *

"Come out and show yourself!" Megatron pointed his mega-cannon around wildly.

"And spoil the surprise?" Rampage's voice came from out of the darkness. "I think not."

"I don't fear you!" Megatron shouted, bluffing as best he could. "I possess your spark and I will make you suffer!"

"Not anymore you don't!" Rampage said in a soothing, but deadly voice. "You see, without your hold on me, you are powerless before my might!"

"Stay away!" screamed Megatron.

At this point, Rampage chose to reveal himself to the tyrant. He leaped down in beast mode and pinned Megatron to the floor neatly.

"Get off!" Megatron attempted to kick Rampage off but could not.

Rampage used the remaining crab legs on his body to pin Megatron down while one of his claws gripped Megatron tightly by the head and drew him closer.

"Believe you me," Rampage whispered to Megatron. "All the suffering you forced me to endure I will inflict upon you a hundredfold worse."

It was at that point that Rampage began squeezing down on Megatron's head as the Predacon cried out in pain.

* * *

After racing for what seemed like miles, Tarantulas stopped by the edge of a cliff and transformed back to robot mode to catch his breath.

"I think I've lost him now," he finally looked up.

Tarantulas had spoken too soon. From out of the undergrowth leaped a giant Carnotaurus, landing right before the horrified Tarantulas.

"Didn't think you'd lose me that easily, did you?" Dinobot looked at Tarantulas in the optics.

"Stay back, I'm warning you!" Tarantulas shaked nervously.

"Or you'll what?" Dinobot sneered.

Tarantulas trembled but then looked down at the cliff. Beneath him was a raging waterfall with a river that led far, far away from the Predacon base. It was his only chance of survival despite the very real possibility he'd be smashed to pieces in the jagged rocks below. Still, it was better than his current predicament.

Screaming at the top of his lungs, Tarantulas leaped into the waterfall from thousands of feet above until his body disappeared beneath the waters.

"Grrr," snarled Dinobot who was now furious that his prey escaped him.

Arching his head back, Dinobot unleashed an unearthly roar, breaking the silence in the air and penetrating even the deepest depths of the jungle. The roar carried on far and wide, as frightened birds flew into the air and the echoes of it remained several seconds after Dinobot finally stopped.

With one more glance at the waterfall, Dinobot turned around and disappeared once more into the jungle.


	3. Chapter 3

**Eternal Life**

_Act III_

"Aaaaaaaahhhh!" a loud scream penetrated the jungle air.

Rhinox's head immediately perked up.

"It came from down there," he said. "At the Predacon base."

"It was Megatron," Optimus added in a hushed voice. "What could've done that to him?"

The entire team had been on the search for Dinobot through the jungle. They had not been successful as far as the search party went. Now, however, they had another distraction to contend with.

"Shouldn't we go find Dinobot first?" asked Rattrap.

Optimus paused, wondering what to do. Finally, he decided that they would investigate the source of the new disturbance.

"We'll go to the Predacon base," Optimus finally decided. "I have a feeling the clue to Dinobot's whereabouts might be over there."

* * *

Dinobot stumbled through the forests almost drunkenly until he fell down almost in a daze. As he got up again, he leaned against a tree for support.

"This cannot be happening!" he cursed. "These actions are not of my own!"

A sharp pain quickly shot through his chest area.

"Raaaaagh!" Dinobot howled.

Two more sharp spikes protruded from his helmet. The changes occurring to his body happened so fast that he was unable to keep up with it. Every time it happened, the pain became more and more unbearable.

Without warning, another flash of agonizing pain enveloped his spark. Dinobot fell to the floor, rolling in misery.

Finally, the pain ended. Dinobot panted heavily before getting up. He looked down at his own reflection in the stream and gasped.

His face had already been twisted almost beyond recognition. Two more sharp horns had emerged from his mouth, giving him a more horrifying exterior.

"Why…" Dinobot muttered, digging his claws into the dirt.

He got up and punched through one of the trees in anger and frustration.

"Why could I not have died when it was my time?!" he roared.

* * *

"By Primus…" muttered Optimus, surveying the horrific scene at the Predacon base.

Both Inferno and Quickstrike lay there with their chests torn out. Inferno, in particular, had been savagely torn apart and his spark was missing. Quickstrike lay in a similar position. There was no doubt at all that they had suffered horrendously before dying.

"Who or what could've done this?" asked Cheetor.

Rattrap and Rhinox looked at each other nervously.

"Only one 'bot could've pulled it off," Rhinox stated.

"Rampage," confirmed Optimus. "Somehow he's no longer under Megatron's control."

"Hey eh, Optimus," Rattrap motioned for his leader to come over. "Speakin' of Megs… I think you need to see this."

Optimus went over to see what Rattrap had pointed out. On the center of the floor lay the desecrated body of Megatron. He had been mercilessly rendered apart in much the same manner Blackarachnia, Quickstrike, and Inferno had been. The sight of Megatron's mutilated body was enough to make all the Maximals sick.

One thing which was missing was Megatron's head. Judging from the mech fluid spread out across the floor where the Predacon leader lay, the decapitation had been messy and violent with no mercy being shown. As they looked around, they could not find the head anywhere. And perhaps, it was probably for the better that they didn't.

"This is unreal…" Cheetor said softly.

"Can't say I ever liked the Preds," Rattrap muttered. "But slag, 'dis is too much…"

The only Predacons missing were Tarantulas and Waspinator. What became of them remained a mystery.

"Let's bring the bodies back to base," Optimus finally declared.

The other Maximals looked at him quizzically.

"They've left this world already," Optimus responded ruefully. "Recycling them is the least we can do."

* * *

"Ooh, Spider-bot is awake?"

Tarantulas blinked wearily before fully opening his optics. Above him hovered Waspinator in beast mode, being ever so annoying as always.

"What happened?" Tarantulas got up.

He was near a river-bank of some sort. Though there was water clogging some of his internal systems, he still shook his head to clear some of it out.

Tarantulas remembered a mutated Dinobot chasing him down towards the edge of a riverfall and he had been forced to escape by plummeting right into the raging waters below simply to save his own thorax.

He shook his head again to get more of the water out. Even more disturbing before the chase began were the killings he had witnessed. Dinobot had annihilated the sparks of both Quickstrike and Inferno ruthlessly. There had been such a cold-blooded willingness on Dinobot's part to do it that Tarantulas felt a sudden chill.

"Good thing Tarantulas is awake now!" Waspinator chirped. "Crab-bot is on the loose now! Has Dinobot with him!"

"Rampage is loose?" demanded Tarantulas.

"Yes," confirmed Waspinator. "Waspinator saw it himself! Allied with raptor-bot to attack Predacon base!"

"Why would they do this?" asked Tarantulas. "Doesn't Megatron possess Protoform X's spark? Wouldn't that be a deterrent to the crab acting out? More importantly, why would Dinobot help Rampage?"

"Waspinator don't know!"

"Feh, I figured you wouldn't," Tarantulas snorted contemptuously and walked away.

"Where spider-bot going?"

"Back to my lair! I need to come up with a plan for survival and fast!"

"Take Waspinator with you!" pleaded the Predacon scout.

"Why should I drag along dead weight?" demanded Tarantulas.

"Waspinator scared! Crab-bot and raptor-bot end Waspinator's life!"

Tarantulas snorted again. A strange mixture of pity and condescension brewed in his processor. The wasp was so pathetic that it was a miracle he was still alive at this point. He didn't care one iota if Waspinator was slagged but there was the possibility that he could use the flier as bait if he was in a tough spot.

"Fine," Tarantulas finally agreed. "But transform to robot mode. We're walking."

"Why?" asked Waspinator.

Tarantulas rolled his optics. Leave it to Waspinator to ask more stupid questions.

"Because," Tarantulas explained slowly. "Your wings make too much noise in beast mode. The only way we can expect to survive is if we maintain a low profile. And a quite one at that."

"Oh," Waspinator buzzed and then transformed to robot mode.

"Fool," Tarantulas muttered as he walked ahead, with Waspinator trailing him from behind.

* * *

"Whoa, is 'dat who I think it is?" Rattrap zoomed in on a faraway vision.

Currently, he was on the search alone. The other Maximals had volunteered to take the bodies of the Predacons back to base for a proper recycling. Which left him as the only Maximals still on the search for Dinobot.

The shape in the distance was undoubtedly that of another Transformer's. It didn't give off a Predacon energy signature like Rampage's. It had to be Dinobot.

Rattrap transformed to vehicle mode and sped over there as fast as his wheels could take him.

"Holy moley…" Rattrap gasped.

"R-Rattrap…" Dinobot raised his head from the position he was sitting.

"Is 'dat you?" Rattrap moved in closer.

"See for yourself," Dinobot replied bitterly.

"Oh man, what happened to ya?" Rattrap leaned down next to Dinobot.

"Aaaagh!" Dinobot howled in pain once more.

Rattrap tried to put a hand on Dinobot's shoulder but the former Predacon slapped it off, leaving Rattrap rather stunned and a bit hurt by the gesture.

"You're what happened!" Dinobot pointed an accusing finger at Rattrap. "You should have left me to die like I should have! Instead you had to bring me back to suffer endlessly with the spark of Protoform X!"

Rattrap was shocked. Dinobot found out about the spark? But then again, he had been mutated by Rampage's spark so the truth had to come out sooner or later.

"You filthy vermin!" Dinobot howled, grabbing Rattrap and throwing him forward. "I should have killed you when I had the chance! Everything that I am… my honor, my dignity, my life… has been destroyed because of you!"

Dinobot raised his sword into the air momentarily before realizing just what he was about to do.

"W-What am I doing…" Dinobot's hands began to shake. He dropped the sword as soon as he saw the hurt expression on Rattrap's face.

"Forgive me…" Dinobot sank to his knees in agony. "I did not mean to say those things. This twisted spark has control of me now, forcing me to do its bidding in the most perverse ways possible. It's tearing apart everything I am as we speak!"

"I… I'm sorry too," Rattrap said, finally apologizing to Dinobot for the first time in his life. "I thought I was doing the right thing at 'da time. I thought I was savin' yer life. Really, I should've respected your final wishes."

"And for that I thank you," Dinobot told Rattrap sincerity through the pain. "But now I fear we have created an even bigger problem."

Rattrap stayed silent, allowing Dinobot to talk.

"I was the one who murdered Silverbolt," Dinobot confessed.

"What?!" Rattrap took a step back.

"It is the truth," Dinobot insisted. "At the time, the spark of Rampage overwhelmed me and influenced me in committing the vile act."

"So… it's true?" asked Rattrap.

"Yes," Dinobot confirmed. "I also accompanied Rampage to the Predacon base where Quickstrike and Inferno met their end at my hand."

Rattrap did not know what to say for all this. So many things were trafficking through his mind right now, including a combination of pity, sorrow, frustration, and disbelief.

"Ack!" Dinobot held his chest. "It's happening again!"

"What's happening?" demanded Rattrap.

"Go…" Dinobot glared at Rattrap. "Get as far away from me as you can and warn the other Maximals about me!"

"I ain't goin' until you come with me!" Rattrap grabbed Dinobot.

Dinobot looked up at Rattrap, revealing his glowing eyes. He gripped Rattrap by the hand and flung him several feet away.

"Don't be a fool!" shouted Dinobot. "Get away… get away before it's too late!"

Finally, Dinobot gripped his head, howling in agony. The cries soon became more and more monstrous.

Rattrap decided, at this point, that perhaps Dinobot was correct. He transformed to robot mode and sped away as fast as his gears would take him.

* * *

"What is Tarantulas doing?" asked Waspinator.

At present, Tarantulas was at the Darkside gathering information from Megatron's private files.

What he was doing was dangerous, no doubt. But if he could find any information on Protoform X at all, then it could mean that he could save his own hide.

"Do not bother me, insect," Tarantulas told Waspinator dismissively.

"Waspinator want to know! Quit keeping Waspinator in the dark!"

"Fine," Tarantulas took an exasperated look at Waspinator. "For your information, I'm seeking files of any sort on the spark of Protoform X."

"But why?" asked Waspinator. "Crab-bot and raptor-bot could come back at any moment!"

"I realize that, you dolt!" Tarantulas sighed. "What I do serves a greater purpose. If I can find the right tidbits of information on X, it could save our lives."

"Oh," Waspinator said plainly.

"Now keep your voice low," Tarantulas ordered. "I have work to do."

Looking around uncomfortably, Waspinator decided to finally do what Tarantulas said. After all, the Predacon scientist was perhaps his best chance of survival and he didn't want to jeopardize that.

Tarantulas returned to his work, satisfied. Deciphering Megatron's code was difficult work but not that Waspinator had finally decided to keep quiet, the workload would be eased considerably for him.

Finally, he found it.

"Excellent," noted Tarantulas. "Computer, download this data-track."

"Affirmative," his computer replied.

The Predacon rogue took out one of his discs and inserted it into the machine. He pressed down on one of the switches to allow the transfer to take place.

* * *

"Hey guys!" Rattrap called out.

"Rattrap, you're back!" Optimus exclaimed.

Rattrap transformed into robot mode in front of all the Maximals currently standing outside the Axalon.

"Guys, I found 'im!" Rattrap told them, huffing in exhaustion as he did.

"Dinobot?" asked Cheetor.

"Yeah, and he needs our help!" Rattrap exclaimed.

"Slow down," Optimus told Rattrap. "What's going on here?"

"Well, ya know how I saved Dinobot's life by putting X's spark into his spark chamber?" asked Rattrap.

"Yes?" Rhinox nodded.

"Well, now 'dat spark's takin' over Dinobot," Rattrap finally confessed.

"Oh no…" muttered Rhinox.

Optimus sighed. "I knew this would be a bad idea."

"We can go find him, can't we?" asked Cheetor. "How far is he from here? I can go fly up and see."

"Actually, um, you might not wanna go after him just yet," Rattrap winced. "He ain't exactly in the best of conditions right now."

"Start over from the beginning," Optimus told Rattrap firmly. "Tell us everything Dinobot told you."

Sighing, Rattrap finally related to them the whole story of what Dinobot had done since fusing his own spark with that of Rampage's.

* * *

Tarantulas sat back on his seat, ruminating carefully. The information he had downloaded from Megatron's personal files had been informative but they were not enough.

So far, what he knew was that Rampage's spark was far from being immune to all harm. There had been an energon chamber Megatron held which contained Protoform X's spark. Whenever Rampage was out of line, Megatron had simply squeezed down on the spark, causing the thrall great pain.

Leave it up to Megatron to devise some innovative torture techniques such as that. Tarantulas was a bit disappointed that he had not come up with an idea like that to keep Rampage in line.

"Scans show that the spark of Protoform X is vulnerable to energon," the computer told Tarantulas.

"What else can you tell me about Rampage?" asked Tarantulas. "Any other visible weak spots to exploit?"

"Information is unavailable," the computer confirmed.

"Slag," Tarantulas sneered.

Hurting the spark of Protoform X with energon was one thing. The difficult part would be piercing Rampage's thick armor to even get to his spark. Overall, neutralizing Rampage was easier said than done.

The other piece of X was no longer available. It now resided within Dinobot and chances were, getting to the spark in his body would be equally difficult.

Tarantulas had so few options left and time was running out. If he didn't find a way to either neutralize Dinobot and Rampage or escape this planet, then sooner or later he would be hunted down and killed.

He had perhaps one option left. It was an unsavory option but a potentially necessary option nonetheless.

"I'm really going to regret this," he groaned, switching to a file containing information on the Maximals.

* * *

Reason and logic had been completely overwhelmed in favor of a monstrous bloodlust. Dinobot roared angrily, blasting apart a rock with his optic lasers. He turned around and sliced through another boulder with his blade.

Rampage walked up from behind Dinobot, having heard the scene the entire time. It appeared that Dinobot had a lot of pent-up frustration which needed release.

"What's bothering you?" Rampage asked innocently.

"Grrr," Dinobot turned around, glaring at Rampage.

"Don't look at me like that," Rampage told him. "I didn't do anything wrong."

Then Rampage realized he wasn't being completely honest with himself or Dinobot.

"Ok, so maybe I did do a lot of nasty, vicious things," Rampage confessed. "But honestly, I've never let that get me down before!"

"You may not," Dinobot hissed. "But I desire battle!"

"Yeesh, always so impatient," Rampage rolled his optics.

"If you will not lead me to my next targets, then I shall go on my own!" Dinobot pointed a finger at Rampage.

"Actually, that was what I'd come to talk to you about," Rampage said, getting down to business.

"Do tell," Dinobot growled.

"The only ones who remain are the Maximals," Rampage explained. "They are our last obstacle on this pathetic planet. Once we're done with them, we'll take their ship to go off-world."

"The… Maximals?" Dinobot asked.

Suddenly, the color of the original Dinobot's eyes returned to his optics.

"Yes, the Maximals who have been a thorn on our side for so long," Rampage declared. "Once we feast upon their sparks, you and I will take their ship back to Cybertron where the fun will _really_ begin."

"But… they are my friends," Dinobot heard his voice slowly returning back to normal.

"What?" Rampage glared at Dinobot.

"Attacking them would be wrong," Dinobot returned the glare.

"Oh really?" Rampage sneered.

Suddenly, Dinobot felt the same searing pain over his chest that he had several cycles ago. The spark of Protoform X was re-establishing its dominance once more. Dinobot howled in anguish, falling down on his knees.

"No… no!" he screamed.

By the time Dinobot looked up, Rampage saw in him those same soulless optics which resembled his own.

"We shall destroy the Maximals together!" Dinobot declared, raising a fist into the air.

"That's more like it," Rampage said approvingly.

* * *

"Are you sure this is where you saw Dinobot?" asked Rhinox.

The Maximals had arrived back at the original place Rattrap claimed to have seen Dinobot. But after scouting around a bit, no traces of Dinobot could be found on their scanner.

Finally, Rhinox put down the long-range scanner.

"Nope, couldn't locate him anywhere," he shook his head.

"Slag, he must've gone off again," Rattrap groaned.

There were two possibilities. Either Dinobot had gone off on his own or he had gone with Rampage. In which case, all four Maximals preferred that it not be the latter.

"Remember," Optimus reminded the team. "If we can, we have to pry the spark of Protoform X from Dinobot by whatever means necessary."

"Won't such an attempt kill him?" asked Rhinox.

"I'm aware there is that possibility," admitted Optimus. "But look at everything that's happened so far, the deaths of Silverbolt and nearly all the Predacons. We can't let this insanity continue."

Rattrap looked down at the ground, not knowing what to say. On one hand, he did not want to even consider attempting such a thing against his friend. But he did realize that the spark of Protoform X was exerting a dangerous influence over Dinobot, an influence which could grow and devour them all if they didn't act.

"I don't like this anymore than you," Optimus said in a serious tone. "Look, I'm hoping for the best and that we separate Dinobot from Rampage's spark unharmed. But anything could happen, especially with both Dinobot and Rampage working together so we have to be prepared for whatever comes our way."

"I'm with you, Optimus," Rhinox finally said.

"Me too," Cheetor agreed.

"Rattrap?" Optimus asked softly.

"I… uh…"

The three other Maximals looked at Rattrap, waiting patiently for his answer.

"Yeah… I'm with you," Rattrap gave the answer.

"How touching," a familiar, nearby voice came from the shadows. "You've all agreed to die together."

Rampage stepped out of the shadows, followed up by Dinobot.

"You!" Rhinox declared. "How is it our scanners couldn't find you?"

"The same way my spark can hide my presence from Megatron of course," Rampage explained. "You see, its powers grant me many gifts other than rapid healing and nigh-invulnerable strength."

"Dinobot!" Optimus called out. "Get away from Rampage! He's using you!"

"Silence Maximal!" Dinobot pointed his sword at Optimus Primal. "Do not speak unless spoken to!"

"Haha, that's a good Dinobot," Rampage complimented.

"What've you done with him?!" demanded Rattrap.

"I did nothing," Rampage told them. "Dinobot was the one who chose this path."

"Because your spark is influencing him!" Optimus pointed out.

"That may be true," acknowledged Rampage. "But other than that, Dinobot's still free to make his own decisions. If he had truly been strong and noble, he would have resisted the allure of my spark."

"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Rhinox.

"It means that Dinobot likes the thrill of the kill," Rampage replied. "He appreciates and understands the darker side of life I'm offering him."

"That ain't true!" Rattrap shouted and fired at shot at Rampage.

The blast hit Rampage but did absolutely no damage. Rampage looked up at Rattrap balefully.

"I was going to kill all of you anyways," Rampage told Rattrap. "But thanks for giving me a good reason."

The behemoth transformed to tank mode and fired a missile salvo at the four.

"Maximals, scatter!" shouted Optimus.

Striking at the ground where all four of them stood, the missile exploded just as the Maximals leaped out of the way. Optimus transformed to flight mode and flew directly at Rampage, firing back with his own arm-mounted blasters.

The shots hit Rampage, belting off his armor quite harmlessly. In return, Rampage fired back and knocked Optimus to the ground..

Optimus coughed violently, attempting to get up. One shot from Rampage's gun was enough to have staggered him. As Rampage towered above him, Optimus grabbed his mace and swung, only for Rampage to catch it in one swift motion.

Rampage swung with his open hand, chopping the mace in two promptly. After that, he grabbed Optimus by the throat, choking him aggressively.

Cheetor and Rattrap opened fire on Rampage but Dinobot leaped in front of both of them, taking the shots for Rampage.

"Chopperface!" Rattrap shouted. "Snap outta it!"

If the real Dinobot deep down had heard it at all, the current Dinobot did not show it in any way, shape, or manner.

"Prepare for extermination!" he told the two Maximals.

Dinobot swirled around, kicking Rattrap aside. Then he looked at Cheetor, blasting the young Maximal point-blank with an optic beam. The blast threw Cheetor half-way across the air until he fell to the ground.

"See that?" Rampage held Optimus in place, forcing him to watch as his team was being assaulted viciously by Dinobot. "Your turn is coming up next, never fear!"

Before Dinobot could stab Rattrap, Rhinox slammed into the raptor 'bot, sending him stumbling away.

"Leave him alone!" Rhinox warned Dinobot.

"You've just assured your own death!" Dinobot hissed.

Rhinox attacked but Dinobot's blade connected with Rhinox's arm, severing it in one powerful blow.

"Aaaaaagh!" shouted Rhinox.

Dinobot then pounced onto Rhinox, pinning him to the floor. He used both hands and punched right into Rhinox's chest plate, ripping it apart in a single motion, exposing the Maximal's spark.

Howling like a wild beast, Dinobot brought his sword down, impaling Rhinox's spark with the weapon.

Rhinox opened his mouth in utter shock as his optics flashed. Then every single particle of his spark dispersed into the air. Finally, the color left Rhinox's optics as his frame stopped moving completely.

Dinobot got up, looking down at the slain Rhinox with an unreadable expression.

"R-Rhinox…" Cheetor whispered.

"Oh my," Rampage cackled. "Ha ha hah!"

"No… Rhinox," Rattrap fell down on both knees.

Optimus stared at the fallen Rhinox, shocked and traumatized by what Dinobot had just done.

Now that Rhinox was dead, the three remaining Maximals felt at last the pain of losing their most reliable friend.

For Optimus, grief turned into rage.

"Murderer!" shouted Optimus, who broke free from Rampage's grip.

Rampage had not expected Optimus to have done so. Due to Rampage's slow reaction, Optimus grabbed the rifle Rampage had attached to his leg and rolled away.

Then Optimus turned the gun on Rampage, firing several shots into him. Because Rampage did not have time to grab his own missile launcher, the shots from Optimus hit him all at once, forcing him back.

"Agh!" shouted Rampage.

Ignoring the pain, Rampage grabbed the gun and twisted it out of Optimus Primal's grip.

"You're going to pay for that," he growled.

Rampage punched Optimus so hard that the Maximal leader was sent soaring. Optimus landed near the ground where Rattrap and Cheetor were with a thud. Nearby were also Dinobot and the body of Rhinox.

"The kid gloves are off!" shouted Rampage who transformed into tank mode.

Inching himself into position, Rampage fired three of his most powerful missiles at the remaining Maximals.

"Incoming!" shouted Optimus.

The ensuing explosion was so large that it engulfed all the participants of the battle, including Dinobot and Rampage himself. Being as angry as he was, Rampage had not taken into consideration the fact that he was so close in range to the Maximals that his own formidable firepower would've had an adverse effect on him as well.

From the distance, Waspinator had been observing the battle. He was far away enough to where the explosion thankfully did not affect him. He had considered throwing in his lot with the Maximals but at the same time, he was still frightened by Dinobot and Rampage.

In the middle of the explosion, the bodies of the three remaining Maximals had been thrown into the air by the sheer force of it. By the time the explosion was over and the smoke had cleared, Rampage and Dinobot lay on the floor, charred and almost unrecognizable. But the bodies of the Maximals had landed far away from them.

"Waspinator to Tarantulas," the bug said to his com-link. "Waspinator has found Maximals."

"Good, then I'll be there shortly," Tarantulas acknowledged.

* * *

By the time they'd woken up, the three Maximals had realized they were no longer in the battlefield. In fact, they were perfectly functional, as if they had made a complete recovery.

"Good to see that you've come about," a familiar voice told them.

"Tarantulas!" Optimus growled. "What do you want?"

"Normally I'd have you strapped to the table for my next surgical procedure," Tarantulas replied. "But unfortunately, that's neither here nor there compared to the bigger problems we face."

"You mean Rampage and Dinobot," Cheetor muttered bitterly.

"Precisely," Tarantulas snapped his fingers. "And this is why I propose a ceasefire between us."

Optimus looked at Tarantulas hesitantly. "Why should we trust you?"

"Because I'm the only chance you stand of surviving these monsters," Tarantulas warned them. "And since I see that rhinoceros buffoon is no longer amongst you, I'm assuming you'll need my scientific expertise."

It was at that moment that Rattrap snapped.

"Shut up!" he tackled Tarantulas, taking him down to the ground.

Rattrap grabbed Tarantulas by the throat and began squeezing but Optimus and Cheetor quickly removed him from the Predacon.

Tarantulas cleared his throat. "Like I said, you need me now whether you like it or not."

"Fine," Optimus sighed in defeat. "We're listening."


	4. Chapter 4

**Eternal Life**

_A/N_: In my story I'm taking a few liberties with the plot. In the TV show, the transwarp wave reached only the Tripredacus Council instead of the Maximals. That was what got them to send Ravage over and begin the events of The Agenda trilogy. In my story, the transwarp wave reached the Maximal government like our heroes had expected.

_Act IV_

As he got up, Dinobot gripped a small pile of sand, coughing as he attempted to stand back on two feet.

To his right, Rampage was equally as disoriented. The blast had completely devastated him as well, placing him in stasis lock for Primus-knows-how-long.

"The Maximals have gotten away," Dinobot said plainly.

"Yes but they will not elude me, ha hah!" chuckled Rampage. "They will come back to us sooner or later. Do you know why?"

Dinobot felt something deep inside himself, a mixture of self-loathing and regret. He knew what he had done.

"Yes, I slew another of their friends," Dinobot answered.

"Precisely!" Rampage exclaimed. "Which is why they'll be back for revenge… and why we'll be ready for them."

* * *

"First things first," Tarantulas told the remaining Maximals. "Our goal first and foremost is to neutralize Dinobot and Rampage."

"I agree," Optimus nodded.

"What then?" asked Cheetor, looking at Tarantulas suspiciously. "We go back to slagging each other?"

"Hmph," Tarantulas glanced at Cheetor scornfully. "We'll answer that question when the proper time comes."

Cheetor shook his head. He did not trust Tarantulas one bit. Though they were working together to ensure their own survival, he still had the nagging feeling that if Rampage and Dinobot were taken care of, _if_ being the key word, then the spider would immediately turn on them. The cheetah 'bot was also certain that Optimus and Rattrap felt the same way.

"What are our options?" Optimus asked.

"So glad you asked," Tarantulas continued. "You see, Rampage is a war machine of high durability and strength but he is not invulnerable. Which is why part of his spark was placed in a spark chamber by Megatron who tortured it with energon."

"So energon to his spark can hurt him," Cheetor concluded. "Swell."

"Unfortunately," Tarantulas told the Maximals. "These were the only conclusions I was able to draw with the limited amount of material I had. Your ship, the Axalon, most likely contains further blueprints and information on Protoform X."

"Rattrap, come with me," Optimus told the smaller Maximal. "We're going back to base to retrieve it."

Before Rattrap and Optimus left the room, Cheetor stood up in protest.

"Hey, what about me?" he asked.

"Something wrong, Cheetor?" Optimus questioned.

"You're not going to leave me here alone with buzz-brain and eight legs, are you?" Cheetor whispered.

Optimus looked at Tarantulas and Waspinator, conceding finally that Cheetor did make a good point. Though they were allies for the moment, one could never tell when a Predacon could break a ceasefire.

"Alright, you too Cheetor," Optimus confirmed.

Just as they were headed out, Tarantulas stopped them.

"Wait," he told Optimus. "I'm coming with you."

* * *

"_You have gone too far," Dinobot pointed an accusing finger at the bright burning flame before him. "Your crime is unforgivable!"_

"_Do you not see?" the voice told Dinobot. "This is your destiny! Embrace it!"_

"_I will have no more!" Dinobot pulled out his sword. "Come out and face me, coward!"_

_Finally, a figure stepped out from the flames. It was a monstrous carnotaurus standing on both hind legs. Dinobot immediately knew that he was staring into the face of the hideous alter-ego which had grown within him for so long._

"_You do not wish to fight me," the evil Dinobot replied. "There is no more you can do now except to embrace the darkness!"_

"_Wrong," Dinobot declared. "The only thing I have ever embraced was the path of the warrior!"_

_The doppelganger snarled and transformed to robot mode. He withdrew his sword and swung it, lighting it in flames on the way. Dinobot barely dodged the blow and flipped away._

_Dinobot glared at the flaming sword of his evil counterpart. Up until now he had not known how strong his subconscious evil had really been. Furthermore, it was fueled by the spark of Protoform X, granting it powers beyond belief._

"_Do not fight me," the darker Dinobot said to his other half. "Embrace the darkness."_

"_Never!" Dinobot charged._

_As their swords clashed, the evil doppelganger twisted his blade around, flipping Dinobot's sword out of his hands._

_Not to be deterred, Dinobot continued fighting back, punching his evil counterpart in the stomach two times. Seeing how that had no effect, Dinobot swung, catching the evil Dinobot across the face with a closed fist._

_The doppelganger shrugged off the punch and kicked Dinobot in the center. Dinobot fell back, clutching his chest._

_Dinobot would not give up, however. He ran forth, punching and kicking at his evil counterpart with everything he had. The doppelganger blocked all the incoming strikes and, after countering an attempted knee attack by Dinobot, caught Dinobot by the arm and flipped him on his back._

"_Stay still," the evil alter-ego told Dinobot. "This will be over in a short while."_

"_Raaagh!" Dinobot snarled and leaped back on both feet._

_He punched at the evil counterpart two more times, only for the doppelganger to block them both and return with a ferocious volley of punches._

_Taking one hit after another, Dinobot felt himself weakening progressively as his evil self laid into him with several powerful punches._

_Finally, the doppelganger uppercutted Dinobot, sending him crashing to the ground._

_Breathing heavily, Dinobot unleashed the most powerful blast of eye laser he had. The beam travelled through the air, striking the doppelganger in the chest. The evil counterpart, however, merely stood there, taking the entire intensity of the beam without struggle._

"Raaaagh!" Dinobot shouted.

Rampage, noticing yet another wild mood swing in Dinobot's temperament, took notice. The two of them were inside the Predacon base, resting up for their next killing spree.

"What's gotten into you this time?" demanded Rampage.

"He is trying to resurface again!" the evil Dinobot told Rampage.

"Then fight it!" Rampage urged. "Fight his influence!"

_Finally, Dinobot fell back, unable to keep up his assault any longer._

"_Now it's my turn," the doppelganger smiled._

_The evil counterpart unleashed an even more powerful eye laser, exploding on contact as it hit Dinobot._

_When the smoke cleared, Dinobot lay there helplessly. The evil doppelganger walked up to Dinobot and lifted him up by the throat._

"_The time for assimilation is now," he told Dinobot._

_Bright energies surrounded both Dinobots as the original Dinobot became completely submerged into the mind of the new Dinobot._

* * *

"Excellent," Tarantulas took out the remaining discs from the archives. "Everything I need is right here."

After reading through the blueprints on Protoform X's spark, Tarantulas downloaded the files into his core processor.

"Downloading complete," his computer finally told him.

"Good," confirmed Tarantulas. "Now we've got a fighting chance."

"What's the first step of the plan?" asked Optimus.

"First I'll need to forge some new weapons," Tarantulas replied. "I believe you have the necessary equipment in this ship?"

"I think so," Optimus nodded. "We'll look around."

"Hey Rattrap, something the matter?" asked Cheetor.

Rattrap had been silent the entire time, saying absolutely nothing. Neither Optimus nor Cheetor fully understood what was going on in his mind but they were at least willing to try.

"He killed Silverbolt," Rattrap replied almost distantly. "Then he killed my best pal Rhinox…"

"I'm sorry Rattrap," Optimus said softly.

Because of the precarious situation they were in, they did not even have any time to mourn their fallen comrades. Every second counted and if they wanted to survive, they had to put aside their emotions and their sorrow to focus on the present.

Optimus did not want it to be this way but nonetheless, it was. There was little they could do other than do their best to survive. Mourning was currently not on the agenda.

"Next time we meet up with Chopperface," Rattrap looked at Cheetor and Optimus with a cold-blooded stare. "I'm gonna be the one to kill him."

Rattrap was serious this time. There were no more wisecracks from the small Maximal, only a cold feeling of vengeance left over from his slain friend. Neither Cheetor nor Optimus had anything to say to that. Tarantulas merely chuckled and went back to his work.

"Is this your Sentinel program?" he asked Optimus.

"Yes, why?" Optimus was curious. Prior to bringing Tarantulas back to base, they had ordered Sentinel to stand down so that Tarantulas could be allowed inside.

Tarantulas opened up the compartment and ripped out the Sentinel unit.

"Hey, what was that for?" demanded Cheetor.

"This might save our lives," Tarantulas replied casually.

* * *

"Have you gotten a hold of your wits yet?" asked Rampage.

For almost a megacycle he had watched Dinobot writhe in pain as two conflicting personalities battled from within. It had been an amusing scene for never before had he seen someone fight back so desperately against his spark.

But in the end it would make no difference. His spark exerted so great an influence that sooner or later Dinobot would have to give in. After all, Dinobot's spark was only mortal while his was everlasting.

"Yes, my other side has been completely submerged," Dinobot told Rampage confidently.

"Good, then we begin our hunt now," Rampage informed him.

"Where are we going?" asked Dinobot.

"Where else?" Rampage transformed to tank mode and drove off. "Their base is unprotected!"

Dinobot nodded his head in agreement and transformed to beast mode, running after Rampage.

* * *

"How much longer is this going to take?" demanded Optimus.

"Be patient for a second and don't interrupt me!" Tarantulas snapped.

Currently Tarantulas was working on something within the Maximal lab. The spider had requested complete privacy in doing his work. Against his better judgment, Optimus had allowed him the privacy he wanted. Now he was kicking himself mentally for having done so. There was no telling what Tarantulas was planning in that room.

"Yo eight legs!" Cheetor banged on the door. "Let us in already!"

Finally, the door slid open and Tarantulas emerged.

"Don't you Maximals have patience for anything?" he scoffed.

Tarantulas presented each of the Maximals with a blades forged from raw energon. Because energon was so brittle, using it as a weapon was ill-advised. However, when energon was mixed alongside other metals or precious stones, it held up much better.

"My work is complete," Tarantulas informed them. "After carefully analyzing the armor of Protoform X, I've forged blades from Cybertronian alloys strong enough to cut through their armor."

"So our goal is to pierce their sparks with these energon blades, correct?" Optimus inquired.

"Yup," Tarantulas beamed. "That's all there is to it!"

"Hold on a sec," Rattrap glared at Tarantulas suspiciously.

Somehow Tarantulas was withholding information from them, judging from his excited demeanor. Rattrap could tell because of how jovial Tarantulas sounded and how his hands were fidgeting excitedly.

"You're hiding something from us!" Rattrap accused.

"Me?" Tarantulas gasped. "I would never!"

"Wanna bet?" Rattrap got behind Tarantulas and yanked out one of the blueprints of Protoform X that he held.

"Lookie here!" Rattrap told Optimus and Cheetor.

Optimus rolled out the scroll that Tarantulas had hidden from them, reading it carefully until he got to the final section.

"In the event of Unit X going rogue, cautionary measures have been taken to ensure its destruction," Optimus read. "Raw energon through the spark can be used to destroy Protoform X but will trigger a cataclysmic explosion destroying everything within an estimated one hundred square miles."

"You've been holding out on us, huh?" Cheetor demanded. "Gonna let us take out each other while you sit back and have a good laugh?"

"Well, heh heh," chuckled Tarantulas nervously. "I didn't think this information was too important."

"I knew 'dis spider couldn't be trusted!" Rattrap told the other two Maximals. "I say we recycle his sorry skid-plates here and now!"

"I'm with Rattrap!" Cheetor agreed. "Optimus, you know Tarantulas is going to back-shoot us once Rampage and Dinobot are out of the picture!"

"Wait, wait!" Tarantulas shifted back. "Destroy me now and you risk your greatest chance of survival!"

"And how is that?" Optimus demanded, his patience with Tarantulas also being sorely put to the test.

"Yes you are correct," Tarantulas said to them honestly. "In order for us to destroy Rampage and Dinobot, at least one or two of us will be required to sacrifice themselves to get up close."

Optimus regarded Tarantulas with suspicion still. But he was glad now at least that the Predacon rogue was being more forthright with them. However treacherous Tarantulas usually was, he was at least more open now.

"However, I have come up with a plan so that some of us will survive," Tarantulas informed the team.

"Go on," gestured Optimus.

"I've modified Sentinel so that it may erect an energy barrier around us as Rampage's spark detonates," said Tarantulas. "It will be enough to contain a full explosion. Of course, only I know how to operate it."

"You ain't nothing but a two-timing weasel," Rattrap told Tarantulas with a grimace.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Cheetor. "Tip the odds in your favor so you survive!"

"Precisely," Tarantulas told them. "I've always looking out for number one. Though to be absolutely fair, this is perhaps the best plan I could've come up with under the extreme circumstances. There honestly is no other way to stop Rampage or Dinobot other than destroying their sparks."

"Fine," Optimus agreed. "I'll be the one to do it."

"You're not serious, Optimus!" gasped Cheetor.

"I normally wouldn't trust Tarantulas," explained Optimus ruefully, "but I believe him this time. Circumstances sometimes don't permit us to have the best possible options."

"Correct," finished Tarantulas. "There is no easy way out in war. You Maximals should know this by now."

"Then it's settled," concluded Optimus. "I'll be the one who stops them."

Suddenly, the ship rocked all three Maximals plus Tarantulas.

"They're here!" Cheetor realized.

* * *

"Their ship is unguarded," Rampage observed as he and Dinobot stood before the Axalon openly. "And apparently their shields are down."

"Shall I fire upon them again?" asked Dinobot.

Rampage looked at the vessel before them. Roughly, he estimated that it would probably take three missiles to destroy. Dinobot was only providing the initial attack.

Dinobot blasted the ship on the side with his eye lasers once again, rocking it.

"The Maximals must either come out or be destroyed within!" Dinobot snarled.

* * *

"This isn't good, we're sitting ducks in here!" Cheetor cried. "What'll we do?"

"I don't have everything ready for a confrontation with these two yet!" Tarantulas told the Maximals. "We must retreat for the time being!"

"I ain't waiting no longer!" Rattrap growled. "I'm gonna go out there and take care of 'em once and for all!"

"Don't be a fool!" Tarantulas warned Rattrap. "You'll be killed instantly!"

"Rattrap, Tarantulas is right," Optimus grabbed Rattrap by the shoulder. "Don't get yourself placed in unnecessary danger!"

"But… Rhinox—" Rattrap said weakly.

"I know, it hurts me too," Optimus told him. "It hurts all of us. But if we don't save ourselves, then his sacrifice will have been in vain."

"Feh, you know what?" Tarantulas scoffed at Rattrap. "Go ahead and go out there. Get yourself dismembered. See if I care. All it means is that there's one less 'bot I'll have to look after."

"Oh will you shut up already!" Cheetor snapped at the Predacon.

Tarantulas crossed both arms impatiently.

"You know, the next shot could destroy us," he said. "All I'm saying is that we get out of here as soon as possible."

"Agreed," Optimus nodded. "We'll get out through the back hatches."

* * *

"I've had enough," Rampage stepped forward.

Dinobot noticed this and stopped firing his warning shots.

"They want to go up in a ball of flames in their ship, I'll gladly honor that," Rampage swore.

Protoform X transformed to tank mode and revealed three missiles. One after another, he fired them off.

One missile was all it took to breach the hull of the Axalon. The other two entered inside and destroyed the entire ship in an enormous fireball.

"Could they have been destroyed?" asked Dinobot.

Something in the former Maximal's voice betrayed a touch of concern. Rampage noticed this but did not comment.

"Yes, let us hope so," Rampage replied. "Now let's go inspect what remains are inside."

* * *

Deep down in a ledge near the sea, the three Maximals and Tarantulas stood there, watching as raining bits of the Axalon fell into the waters below. Optimus could hardly believe that the ship which had served him for so long was finally gone.

"The Axalon… it's destroyed," Cheetor muttered.

The ship that had been their home for so long was no more than rubble now.

Tarantulas, though, did not share such sentiments.

"Feh," he muttered. "Lairs can always be replaced."

"Now where do we go?" asked Cheetor.

"We return to my lair," Tarantulas replied. "It is the only place where we shall be safe."

* * *

Waspinator had been waiting at base for over several hours already and the others had not returned yet.

They had been supposed to search for information at the Axalon to discover Rampage or Dinobot's weakness. But Waspinator was not so sure that either of them could be destroyed. If there was indeed a weakness to them, then even then it would be hard to exploit.

The Predacon bug 'bot looked up at the clock which hung on Tarantulas' wall. Another hour had just passed and still no sign of the Maximals or Tarantulas. If they didn't show up soon, then he would have to take his chances outside, risking himself. He did not want to be cooped up in here forever.

Suddenly, the door opened up to reveal Tarantulas and the other three. They were very much alive and well.

"Tarantulas is back!" Waspinator buzzed cheerfully.

"Yes yes," Tarantulas said dismissively. "Now, to work."

The Maximals didn't pay much attention to him either but Waspinator didn't mind. At least now they weren't shooting at him.

"What do we do next?" asked Optimus. "We need a plan for luring those two in."

"And I have just the plan," Tarantulas told them.

The Predacon took out a small homing beacon.

"This beacon will give off a Maximal signature," Tarantulas explained. "When those two show up, we spring our trap."

"How do we carry it out?" asked Cheetor.

"Around the homing beacon will be an electrical net set just for Rampage and Dinobot," Tarantulas pointed out. "Once activated, those nets should be able to restrain the two for a certain amount of time. That will be our window of opportunity."

"We may not get another chance," Optimus admitted quietly.

"Which is why your strike needs to count," Tarantulas reminded Optimus.

Optimus held the energon sword in his hands.

"I'll be ready," he said.

"I take it none of your crew wish to sacrifice themselves either?" asked Tarantulas.

"Optimus, you can't do it!" insisted Cheetor. "I can go instead!"

"Yeah, we can't lose you, boss monkey!" Rattrap pleaded.

"Stand down both of you," Optimus told the two, surprising even Tarantulas with his sudden firmness.

"But Optimus—" Cheetor began.

"But nothing," Optimus said resolutely. "As commander of this team, my last command to my remaining crew is that you remain with Tarantulas and remain safe."

Rattrap and Cheetor looked at Optimus with a sad gaze but chose to say no more.

Tarantulas took the opportunity to take out Sentinel, compressed into the little box.

"I've reprogrammed Sentinel to create a barrier strong enough to contain a small group of Transformers," Tarantulas told them. "When Optimus presses the energon blade into Rampage's spark, the force field from Sentinel should be strong enough to repel the explosion."

"And how do we know you won't backshoot us after 'dis is all over?" demanded Rattrap.

"Haha, you don't," chuckled Tarantulas. "But I'm still the lesser evil compared to those two… after all, that's why you're siding with me now, isn't it?"

"Waspinator not want to backshoot Maximals," the Predacon flier chirped in. "Waspinator need ride off this planet."

Rattrap gripped the side of his pistol. He would definitely be prepared for any potential shenanigans from Tarantulas when the smoke cleared. There was no telling what the spider was capable of.

"I hope Cybertron finds us soon," Cheetor muttered.

It was a strong sentiment that all the Maximals shared at the moment. With the transwarp explosion travelling far and wide, it was only a matter of time before it reached Cybertron and the Maximal government sent out a search party.

How long it would take was still a matter worth debating.

* * *

Rampage rummaged through the remains at the Predacon base. After tossing aside the last piece of junk metal, he picked out what he was looking for.

"Alas poor Megatron," he held up the disembodied head of Megatron. "I knew him well."

Megatron's head, at this point, was already decaying from rust. The glass in both his optics had been shattered and his helmet was dented beyond belief.

"Why do you keep that disgusting thing around?" demanded Dinobot.

"Because it's a trophy," Rampage explained. "And I do like to keep trophies."

"I have a question," Dinobot told Rampage.

"Speak," commanded Rampage.

"After we are through with the Maximals, how do we expect to return to Cybertron?" Dinobot asked. "You destroyed their ship."

"I'm not too concerned about that," Rampage replied calmly. "When I was still a slave under Megatron's collar, he mentioned to his troops something about a transwarp wave which would reach Cybertron."

"You mean to tell me Cybertron will send ships to rescue the Maximals?" Dinobot went on. "Only for them to find us in their stead?"

"Precisely," Rampage cackled. "Hahaha!"

"Do you wish for us to destroy all of Cybertron?" asked Dinobot.

"Yes, why?" asked Rampage.

"It would be such a waste to destroy all the civilians and infrastructure of the planet," Dinobot voiced his opinion, something he rarely did around Rampage.

"What do you mean?" Rampage inquired tensely.

"Instead of leveling everything we could rebuild it," Dinobot went on. "Create a new society where Predacons and other outcasts like us can rule an empire!"

Rampage sensed something wrong immediately. Dinobot was no longer sounding like the crazed beast unleashing a devastating path of death and destruction like he was previously. Now he was talking about rebuilding and creating a new empire, something most uncharacteristic of the evil Dinobot he had created from his own spark.

"He's resurfacing, isn't he?" Rampage furrowed his brows.

"What?" demanded Dinobot.

"Your Maximal side," Rampage pointed out. "He's taken over without you even realizing it."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Dinobot snapped. "I would never—"

Rampage heaved himself up and grabbed Dinobot by the neck, slamming him against the metal wall.

"You fool!" shouted Rampage. "It's happening again! You've allowed your true nature to come back!"

"Get off of me!" Dinobot planted both feet into Rampage's chest and kicked him away.

Rampage fell down but got back up immediately.

"Search your feelings," Rampage urged. "Only you may discern the good and evil within your spark."

Before Dinobot could reply, he was hit with another splitting headache. The mutated raptor-bot fell down to both knees, clutching his head and screaming in agony.

"Raaaaaaahhh!" Dinobot howled.

_Deep within the subconscious of Dinobot, a more terrible war than ever was being waged._

"_Stay out of my head!" the evil Dinobot shouted. "I control you, both body and soul!"_

"_That will not be allowed," the original Dinobot replied. "You've underestimated the good that lays buried beneath you."_

"_There is no good!" the evil Dinobot shouted back. "I am a being of darkness! I revel only in war, carnage, and evil!"_

_The good Dinobot punched the evil Dinobot, sending his darker counterpart staggering back from the blow._

"_Then why am I winning?" asked the good Dinobot._

_The evil Dinobot fell back, realizing that he had been injured._

"_You will be suppressed if it's the last thing I do!" shouted the darker Dinobot._

_Howling in fury, the evil counterpart swung at Dinobot only for Dinobot to dodge it and drop-kick him in the chest. The doppelganger fell back on his back this time._

"_You once told me not to fight the darkness that was consuming me," Dinobot told his evil self. "Now it is my turn to tell you not to resist the good that has been permanently rooted in your soul."_

"_Shut up!" the evil Dinobot countered. "Shut up!"_

"_You may either choose to step into the light," the good Dinobot went on. "Or the light will overcome the shadows on its own accord."_

_The evil Dinobot drew his sword but the good Dinobot quickly blocked the incoming blow with his own. The thrust, slashed, and parried until the real Dinobot knocked the sword out of his counterpart's hands. Gripping his sword tightly, Dinobot slashed his evil double across the chest viciously._

"_Aaaaagh!" shouted the darker Dinobot._

"_You are growing weaker," Dinobot told him. "Surrender now or be destroyed."_

_Panting exhaustively, the evil Dinobot felt his anger growing steadily as flames began to surround him. His eyes glowed with blood red once more as he felt a deep fury within ready to erupt._

"_I'll send you to the Pit!" the evil Dinobot shouted and stretched out both hands, blasting and consuming the good Dinobot with a flaming onslaught of pure hellfire._

"I… I've done it!" Dinobot panted on the floor.

"Done what?" demanded Rampage. "Speak quickly! I've gotten a trace on the Maximals!"

"I've suppressed him again!" Dinobot huffed. "I've suppressed the original Dinobot's spirit once more."

"Is it permanent this time?" Rampage asked impatiently.

"No, I'm afraid not," Dinobot confessed. "He still resides in me, ready to take over at a moment's notice. Which is why we must find and destroy the Maximals now!"

"I agree," Rampage nodded. "Now let's go and find them. After that we can deal with your 'other half' permanently."

Dinobot nodded in agreement and followed Rampage out the exit.


	5. Chapter 5

**Eternal Life**

_Act V_

Running his hand down his gun, Rampage bristled in anticipation for the upcoming battle. He and Dinobot were closing in on the area where the Maximal signature was being given off, both of them eager to kill.

"The signature is getting stronger," Dinobot told him.

"Yes," Rampage replied shortly.

He and Dinobot made their way across the boulder in front of them and saw the open space where the Maximals supposedly were.

"What?!" Rampage looked about angrily.

There were no Maximals around. Instead, there was only a metal platform in front of them with a small electronic box, emanating the signal.

"They are not here," Dinobot sniffed the air, then transformed to robot mode along with Rampage.

Rampage picked up the small box and held it up.

"Where are they?!" he bellowed.

Suddenly, four columns erupted from the ground on all sides, generating an electro-magnetic pulse and trapping the two in place.

"Hraaaagh!" Dinobot shouted in pain as the wave of energy overpowered him and Rampage.

"Now Optimus!" a voice shouted.

From the skies, Optimus flew down and transformed to robot mode in mid-air. He unsheathed the energon blade Tarantulas had forged for him and slashed Rampage across the chest, cutting him open.

Rampage howled in agony. This was one of the very few times someone had been able to hurt him this way. The electro-magnetic wave of energy around him also made it extremely difficult for him to heal the wound as he normally would have.

Optimus positioned his sword and pointed it at the spark of Protoform X which was now exposed.

"This is it Rampage!" he warned.

"No!" Rampage snarled.

Just as Optimus closed in, Dinobot turned his head towards the Maximal, despite the great pain inflicted upon him by the energy net, and fired off an eye beam which knocked the sword right out of Optimus Primal's hands.

A second blast struck Optimus in the chest and sent him skidding away.

"Thanks for the save," Rampage acknowledged.

Rampage raised the rifle he had in his hand and managed to fire off a salvo which destroyed one of the metal columns which maintained the electric net. In that moment, the electro-magnetic field disappeared.

"Now," Rampage glared at the helpless Optimus Primal before them. "What were you planning on doing to me?"

-------------------

"Turn off Sentinel!" Cheetor told Tarantulas.

"What?!" demanded the spider. "It's our only hope of survival!"

"Optimus is in trouble now!" Cheetor protested. "We have to help him!"

Tarantulas, however, was not moved.

"I'm not leaving the safety of this shield," he insisted.

"Do it!" Rattrap warned Tarantulas.

Tarantulas felt the barrel of a gun pointed into his back.

"Very well," he leaned down towards Sentinel and punched in a few codes.

A hole opened up in the energy barrier surrounding them.

"Go if you wish," Tarantulas instructed. "Once you go out, you don't come back in."

Neither Cheetor nor Rattrap needed to be told twice. They left the energy shield and rushed towards their leader.

"Fools," muttered Tarantulas and switched Sentinel's shields back to full power.

-------------------

Rampage grabbed Optimus by the neck and lifted him up easily.

"I wonder how I should end your existence," mused the Transmetal crab. "A quick death would not bring me satisfaction."

Optimus grabbed his mace and swung. It struck Rampage across the head but Rampage did not even seem to notice the pain.

"Hah hah, getting desperate aren't you?" chuckled Rampage.

Protoform X grabbed Optimus by the hand and squeezed. Optimus howled in pain and dropped the mace. That, however, did not stop Rampage from intensifying the hold.

Finally, Optimus fell to the ground clutching a mangled hand which Rampage had crushed entirely.

"Aaaaahhh!" shouted Optimus.

Without showing an ounce of remorse, Rampage kicked Optimus in the chest, sending him crashing against a boulder. Optimus slid to the floor, on the verge of entering stasis lock.

"Optimus!" shouted Cheetor.

"You wish to join him?" asked Rampage.

Cheetor flew down in front of Rampage and transformed to beast mode. He fired off several shots, none of which hurt Rampage.

"Pathetic," Rampage shrugged off the shots and struck Cheetor.

He did not hit Cheetor with his full force but the blow was enough to knock Cheetor down completely.

"Oh man…" Cheetor got up groggily. "That really hurt."

"Believe me, there's worse to come," Rampage informed him.

Protoform X grabbed Cheetor by the neck and lifted him up as well.

"I think I'll try something different for you," Rampage decided.

He raised Cheetor high and punched a hole right through the young Maximal. Cheetor howled excruciatingly but could do nothing to stop the serial killer. Rampage threw Cheetor down, aware that with his wounds, the golden cheetah would have to put up an even more desperate fight for survival.

And desperation was one of the many fears he loved to feed off of.

Optimus helped Cheetor up with his uninjured hand, attempting to steady them both.

"Ready for round two?" beckoned Rampage.

-------------------

Just as Cheetor had done, Rattrap had also rushed to the aid of Optimus. Unfortunately for him, he had been prevented from helping Optimus.

Dinobot stood in his way with sword in hand. Cheetor had merely flown over Dinobot to reach Optimus.

Rattrap, on the other hand, did not have the advantage of flight.

"Greetings vermin," Dinobot hissed.

"So 'dis is how it's gonna be, huh?" Rattrap raised his pistol.

"Yes," Dinobot grinned. "After this is all over, I might give your body a decent recycling."

"You're lyin' through your teeth, ain't you?"

"Yes, how could you tell?" Dinobot glanced at Rattrap sideways.

"Cuz once a Pred, always a Pred," Rattrap replied.

Something in Rattrap's voice angered Dinobot immensely. He charged just as Rattrap fired off several shots.

Again and again, Dinobot deflected the shots with his sword. Then he kicked the gun out of Rattrap's hand.

Rattrap was not without other means of self-defense, however, and drew his tail-sword, holding it up high. Dinobot quickly cut through those defenses. One slash was all it took to destroy the sword-tail Rattrap held, quickly followed up by a single punch which floored Rattrap.

"Any last words?" Dinobot pointed his sword at the fallen Rattrap.

"Nah, there ain't nothing to regret," Rattrap spat.

_Then… there is nothing to regret?_

Dinobot paused. Something deep down in the recesses of his mind had paralyzed him once more to the point where he could not deliver the finishing blow.

"What's wrong, Chopperface?" demanded Rattrap. "Don't got the guts to do it?!"

Dinobot snapped back to reality.

"Don't fool yourself!" he snarled. "I could end your pitiful existence anytime!"

"Then why haven't ya?" asked Rattrap.

_Don't do it…_

"Silence!" Dinobot shouted into the air. "You stay out of this!"

"Da heck is going on here?" Rattrap muttered.

Suddenly, Dinobot turned away from Rattrap, clutching his head and slashing his sword at a seemingly invisible enemy from elsewhere.

"Get out of my head!" shouted Dinobot.

"_I destroyed you!" shouted the evil Dinobot. "You cannot have this body!"_

_Almost on a cue, a bright light shined down on the doppelganger. He looked up and saw a spectacular sight, the spirits and sparks of thousands upon thousands of heroes of Cybertron, brave souls who had given their services for the greater good._

_He could not make out the images very well but he could have sworn he had seen figures such as Optimus Prime and Ultra-Magnus among those deities._

_At the very forefront of those sparks, however, was the real Dinobot._

"_You and I meet once more," he told his doppelganger._

_The evil Dinobot gazed up at the stern, unrelenting gazes of all the Cybertronian deities and heroes. For the first time in his life he felt true fear._

_There was no escaping judgment this time._

"_When you buried me, I had lost all hope," explained Dinobot. "I believed that my life and my honor had ended."_

_The evil counterpart took a step back, perhaps out of fear._

"_Then in the very darkness of my consciousness, I realized all the good I had done," Dinobot explained. "I had come to see that my actions saved countless generations to come."_

_With that, Dinobot drew his own sword, holding it up high._

"_Stay back!" shrieked the darker Dinobot._

"_My final resting place will be within the hallowed halls of the Matrix," Dinobot informed his counterpart. "But not yet. There is one more thing I must do."_

_A bolt of lightning charged the sword Dinobot was holding in his hand. He leaped down and sliced through the evil Dinobot from top to bottom. The evil counterpart screamed in agony and exploded in a brilliant shower of atomic particles._

_Dinobot stood up. The evil within his spark had been destroyed forever._

_He looked up towards the great heroes and deities of Cybertron._

"_My time has come," he told them. "But one thing on earth remains unresolved."_

_The pantheon of great Cybertronian divinities said nothing. They understood exactly what Dinobot meant._

_Dinobot closed his eyes as twin flashes of light enveloped him. _

-------------------

"I've, I've done it," Dinobot cleared his head, lowering his sword.

Rattrap looked at him in confusion. First Dinobot was trying to kill him and now…?

"There is little time to explain," Dinobot told Rattrap. "We must stop Rampage first!"

At a complete loss of words, Rattrap simply gaped as Dinobot turned away from him and hurried to assist Cheetor and Optimus.

The battle against Rampage had not gone well for Cheetor and Optimus.

In desperation, the Maximal leader and Cheetor were blasting Rampage with everything they had to no avail.

Rampage shrugged off the shots and transformed to tank mode, firing a volley which scattered the two.

Cheetor clutched his wound, fighting just to stay functional. Rampage was only toying with them at the moment and there was no telling when the crab would stop fooling around and get down to business. All he could do was stay alive with the slimmest of hopes.

That would be hard to do however. Rampage had punctured some of his internal wirings, making it painful simply to move.

Turning his attention away from Cheetor momentarily, Rampage grabbed Optimus and shoved him against a rock.

"You're going to go first," Rampage warned.

Cheetor panicked but then saw the sword Optimus had dropped on the floor. He rolled forward and grabbed it.

While in Rampage's grip, Optimus gripped his gun and fired a shot square into Rampage's head.

The behemoth chafed at being shot at such close quarters but quickly shrugged it off. He gripped Optimus's chest tightly and slammed him into the rock with so much force that the Maximal's entire body went through it.

"You never cease to amaze me," Rampage told Optimus. "Thinking you've still got a chance of survival."

Optimus made one final attempt to get up but Rampage placed his foot on the Maximal's back, preventing him.

"Megatron put up a great struggle as well," Rampage informed Optimus. "I wonder if your spark tastes as delicious as his."

To his sudden bewilderment, a sword pierced through his chest. He had not even seen Cheetor sneaking up from behind him with the energon blade.

"Bwaaaaaahhh!" screamed Rampage, clutching his chest and howling like a crazed beast.

Cheetor clung on for dear life as Rampage thrashed about. His strike had narrowly missed Rampage's spark. But it still did its damage to Rampage. Finally, Rampage grabbed Cheetor and threw him off.

"You'll… pay for that!" hissed Rampage.

He was lucky Cheetor hadn't the best aim. If the thrust had been any more accurate, his spark would have been impaled.

With a grunt, he grabbed the sword impaled in him and slowly yanked it out, doing his best to ignore the pain. Finally, he threw it aside and stomped towards the hapless Cheetor, aiming his gun at the Maximal.

As he walked steadily, the wound on his chest closed up and healed by itself naturally.

"Time to make cat food out of you," Rampage slowly squeezed down on his trigger.

Just before he could fire, however, Dinobot slammed into Rampage, causing the behemoth to fire upwards, missing his target.

Rampage fell to the ground with a thud. He looked back up to see Dinobot standing before him menacingly.

"What are you doing?!" he demanded.

"Something I've been unable to do ever since the perversion of your spark took hold of me," Dinobot told him. "The right thing."

"So… it looks like the old Dinobot has emerged once more," Rampage got up, grinning inwardly.

"Yes, it is permanent this time," Dinobot informed him.

The two titans circled each other, watching one another cautiously.

"How does it feel now?" asked Rampage. "Knowing that you're a murderer who's taken innocent lives? Must feel pretty bad, eh?"

"Not as bad as you'll feel," Dinobot answered, "once I've sent you to the Pit myself where you shall suffer eternally for your actions!"

"Ragh!" Rampage opened fire upon Dinobot.

Dinobot rolled aside to avoid the shot and blasted Rampage in the chest with an eye beam.

As Rampage staggered back from the blow, Dinobot entered into the fray, punching Rampage viciously across the face.

Rampage swung back but Dinobot avoided it, driving his fist into Rampage's stomach three times, progressively staggering the behemoth with each blow.

Not willing to simply sit back and take it, Rampage returned the favor with a powerful uppercut which sent Dinobot flying back.

Dinobot landed with a thud next to Optimus and the other Maximals. He got up and stared at his old friends.

"Save yourselves," he warned them. "This battle will be to the finish."

"Dinobot, is that really you this time?" asked Cheetor.

"Yes, the evil influence of Protoform X has been erased from my consciousness," acknowledged Dinobot. "But the true battle has not ended. It will end only when Rampage has been destroyed!"

"Dinobot, wait!" Optimus shouted but it was too late. Dinobot had returned to the battle once more.

"Where's Tarantulas?" asked Optimus.

"Right over there," Cheetor pointed to where the spider had set up shield.

Without haste, the Maximals made their way over to where Tarantulas was at.

"Turn down your shields," Optimus ordered.

"No," Tarantulas replied brusquely. "When Rampage goes up in flames, so do all of you."

"Let us in, web-breath!" insisted Cheetor angrily.

"Feh, your problems are no longer my problems," Tarantulas shrugged and looked away.

"Oh no?" asked Rattrap, taking out the blueprints of Protoform X which Tarantulas thought he had stored away.

"How did you get those?" demanded Tarantulas. "I thought they were back at base!"

"I knew you'd try to pull something on us," Optimus informed the Predacon. "So I had Rattrap dig these up and bring them along with us."

"So if we go boom, all these blueprints go with us," Rattrap wagged a finger at Tarantulas.

"You filthy Maximals!" snarled Tarantulas. "Give those back!"

"Can you stand to lose these blueprints?" demanded Optimus. "Years of scientific knowledge on how to create the ultimate weapon will be lost forever once the explosion destroys us."

"Fine," Tarantulas turned off the shields to Sentinel.

"You give us Sentinel, we give you the blueprints," Optimus delivered Tarantulas the final ultimatum.

Sneering contemptuously, Tarantulas walked over to them and handed them Sentinel.

Before he could take the blueprints, however, Rattrap stood in front of him.

"First tell us how to operate Sentinel's new shield system," he ordered.

"Very well," Tarantulas sighed. "You must press down on the blue button while augmenting the flux capacitor with Sentinel's B-C microchip. Now may I have those blueprints?"

Optimus handed the blueprints and Tarantulas took the blueprints brusquely. He turned around, as if to leave, but was stopped by Cheetor and Rattrap.

"On second thought, you could be lying to us," Cheetor cupped both hands together, preparing to blast Tarantulas if need be. "So we'll have you stay and operate Sentinel."

-------------------

Again and again Dinobot slashed Rampage viciously across the chest, opening up two new wounds.

Rampage howled in pain but blocked the next attack by grabbing Dinobot by the wrist before the sword could reach him again.

"Hah hah, that won't be allowed," cackled Rampage.

He twisted Dinobot's arm behind him and threw him off. Dinobot attacked again but Rampage drove his fist into Dinobot's solar plexus. Dinobot coughed violently and keeled over. This gave Rampage the opportunity to drive his elbow into Dinobot's spine. With an agonized moan, Dinobot fell to the ground.

Seething with anger over the betrayal, Rampage slammed his foot onto Dinobot's back and began grinding down hard.

"After all I've done to make you what you are now, you would turn on me?" demanded Rampage.

Feeling himself being crushed to death slowly, Dinobot grunted. But he still had a few more tricks up his proverbial sleeve.

Twisting his head around to the back of his body, Dinobot unleashed an eye beam which struck Rampage in the chin, knocking him off. Dinobot got up once more, twisting his head back to the proper position.

"Resourceful as ever," Rampage wiped away the mech fluid at his chin.

Dinobot got up, punching Rampage across the face repeatedly, driving the monster back with each successive blow.

Finally, Rampage blocked the next blow, striking back and punching Dinobot so hard, the raptor 'bot was sent flying. As he landed, the Maximals and Tarantulas appeared before him.

"Are you okay?" asked Optimus.

"Yes, and I must finish this," Dinobot got up.

"We can help!" insisted Cheetor.

"No," Dinobot told the Maximals. "This is my battle. I will finish this."

Uneasily, Rattrap shifted his feet. He could sense that this was truly the real Dinobot who had returned. An uncomfortable mixture of relief, betrayal, confusion, and discomfort filled his thoughts. There was no doubt that the real Dinobot was back, but there was so much to be said… with so little time.

"Let me," Rattrap gripped Dinobot's wrist. "I caused 'dis whole mess."

"No," Dinobot told him softly. "I am the one who has committed these unspeakable acts. It is I who must seek penance."

"Are you done yet?" Rampage glared at the team. "I'd like to get this over with now."

Without another word, Dinobot looked at the Maximal team with an understanding stare. He nodded towards them with an unspoken gesture of respect and walked away.

"I suggest all of you step inside this circle," Tarantulas said to them. "Don't want to get caught up in the explosion, do we?"

Reluctantly, the Maximals stepped within the circle as Tarantulas activated Sentinel to form the protective barrier. Now surrounded by a barrier of energy, the Maximals could only look on as Dinobot faced Rampage down.

Rampage blocked a roundhouse kick by Dinobot and punched back. Dinobot swerved under the punch and returned with his own palm strike right under Rampage's chin, staggering the monster. As Rampage was grasped his throat in pain, Dinobot raised his sword and criss-crossed it across Rampage's chest, cutting the behemoth open, exposing the spark in his chest with an X-shaped wound.

Knowing he had only one chance, Dinobot thrust his sword at the spark but Protoform grabbed the sword just in time.

"You'll never get the chance!" Rampage taunted, holding the sword firmly even as mech fluid leaked out from his injured hand. "Not in a million years!"

With that, Rampage shattered the sword and broke it in two. As the sword fell to the ground, Rampage curled his injured hand into a fist and drove it right into Dinobot's mid-section.

Dinobot sputtered, barely concealing a cough of mech fluid coming out of his mouth, and did not have enough time to react as Rampage brought both fists down on his shoulders. The force of the twin blows sank Dinobot to his very knees. This time, more mech fluid flowed out of his mouth as Dinobot coughed violently.

"I'm going to make you regret you ever existed!" Rampage howled.

Despite the great pain he felt, Dinobot knew he had to act fast. The wounds on Rampage's chest had not fully healed, most likely because Protoform X was focusing all his rage and attention towards crushing his enemy.

With a tremendous burst of energy, Dinobot leaped back up and threw a punch, which Rampage caught. Then he threw another, which X, again, caught.

"Is that all you've got left?!" demanded Rampage.

Dinobot did not look up into Rampage's eyes. He continued his struggle with Rampage who grew even more angry at the raptor 'bot for not responding.

"Speak, damn you!" Rampage shouted, not realizing that in his rage, he was neglecting to heal his own wound.

The monster began squeezing down harder on Dinobot's fists, applying progressively greater and greater pressure until he felt the joints begin to give way.

"So this is how the mighty Dinobot chooses to end it…" Rampage sneered. "Any last words?"

"Yes," Dinobot looked up, revealing the pent-up reserve of energy he had contained in his optics. "I've got you just where I want you."

Dinobot screamed, unleashing a barrage of laser energy from his eyes right into the open wound on Rampage's chest. The optic blast struck Rampage's spark dead-on, consuming it in a powerful green light.

"Nyaaaaaaahhh!" screamed Rampage.

"Brace yourselves!" Tarantulas told the Maximals and set Sentinel's power to the max.

A bright light surrounded both Rampage and Dinobot, culminating in a spectacular explosion which shook the ground they stood on. Because the Maximals were already in the energy bubble, they could not see the explosion in its entirety. But its seismic impact was significant as they had to hold on to one another and brace themselves carefully.

"Shields power at fifty percent and dropping," announced Sentinel.

"Just a little while longer…" Tarantulas held on tightly.

"Forty five percent and dropping… forty… thirty five… thirty…"

-------------------

After what seemed like hours, Cheetor finally opened his eyes. Just to be sure, he looked up and then down to see if he was in the Well of Allsparks yet.

Thankfully, he was not. The energy barrier still surrounded them. Outside was a storm of sand which had been kicked up from the aftermath of the explosion. Rattrap and Optimus opened their eyes as well.

"Is it over?" asked Optimus.

"Yes," Tarantulas told them. "But we'll leave the shields on for just a little while longer. The dust should settle soon."

Nervously, they stood and waited for what seemed like an agonizingly long time.

Finally, as the sediments in the air settled, Tarantulas turned off the shields. A familiar buzzing in the distance was also brought to their attention.

"Yoohoo!" Waspinator flew down. "Is battle over?"

"It is," confirmed Tarantulas.

"Whew," Waspinator sighed. "Waspinator saw explosion in the distance… not sure what happened."

At this point, the Maximals were no longer paying any attention to the Predacons. Slowly, they walked towards the center of the explosion, to the crater which was created in the impact.

Parts of Rampage were scattered everywhere, all of them charred but still recognizable.

Carefully stepping over one of Rampage's formerly functional claws, Rattrap hurried up ahead to where Dinobot lay.

To say what Dinobot was badly damaged would be an understatement. The joint on one of his arms was half-way loose while his helmet had been completely destroyed by the explosion. A messy, charred sight of wiring and chrome characterized his head. From head to toe, the explosion had seared his body.

Dinobot lay there helplessly, only moving his head when he sensed that the Maximals were there.

"Dinobot, are you alright?" asked a concerned Optimus.

"No, but it soon won't matter anymore," Dinobot replied weakly. "I had always imagined having a less ignominious ending than this one…"

"That's not true!" Cheetor spoke up. "You stopped Rampage! You destroyed his influence and saved who-knows-how-many people!"

"Perhaps…" Dinobot looked towards the side. "Only time will tell."

"Rattrap?" Optimus looked at the small Maximal, noticing how Rattrap wasn't even looking into Dinobot's dying optics.

Rattrap turned around, looking at Dinobot with confused eyes.

"I once thought you were a slag-suckin' saurian," he told the former Predacon. "Then when you sacrificed yourself at the valley, I couldn't stand the thought of losing you… now I don't know what 'ta think."

"Think no more of me," Dinobot told Rattrap, then to the other two Maximals. "Wipe me from your memories and do not allow my dishonored actions to be recorded anymore. My hands are stained with the blood of innocents and my soul has been tainted by evil."

As Dinobot spoke, Rattrap felt his feelings being torn left and right between forgiving Dinobot and condemning him.

"My time is growing short," Dinobot said to Rattrap. "Finish it… right through my spark."

Rattrap raised his pistol, pointing it at Dinobot's now-exposed spark. With his hand quivering as he held it, Rattrap could not bring himself to shoot after gazing into Dinobot's sad, forlorn optics.

"I… can't do it," Rattrap lowered the gun. "I ain't shooting my best friend."

Rattrap knelt down before the fallen Dinobot.

"I am… forgiven?" asked Dinobot.

"Yeah," Rattrap finally clasped Dinobot's hand. "You are."

Dinobot offered a weak smile.

"Then there is nothing to regret," he whispered.

Cheetor and Optimus also knelt down before the fallen Dinobot.

"Is there any way we can save you?" asked Optimus.

"No, stasis lock is no longer available to me," Dinobot told them. "Before I go, there is one last thing I wish to say."

"We're here with you to the end!" Cheetor put a hand on Dinobot't shoulder.

"Listen to me well," said Dinobot, whose breath was drawing shorter. "My life will end soon but you still have yours. The Beast Wars are over now, so don't waste your breath dwelling on bitter memories of the past. My parting wish is… that…. you live."

Dinobot managed to hang out until his final breath.

"The rest… is silence," his final words emerged.

His eyes closed permanently as his spark, the life-force of his body, floated out into the sky.

"He lived a warrior… and died a hero," Optimus said softly. "May his spark find peace in the afterlife."

In the distance, Waspinator watched the Maximals warily. Tarantulas was not making any move at all to launch a surprise attack on them.

"Why Tarantulas not attack?" asked Waspinator. "Waspinator thought it was spider-bot's plan."

"For some reason… I'm not in the mood," confessed Tarantulas.

Something had changed. Tarantulas had never thought of himself as a particularly merciful or compassionate being. But for some reason, he didn't feel like backstabbing the Maximals anymore. What bothered him was that he could not figure out why.

Was it compassion? Preposterous.

Was it pity? Possibly.

Whatever it was, it bothered him. Perhaps he just wasn't in the mood. It was the most rational explanation he could think of.

-------------------

"Bring us down," the Maximal captain ordered.

Several weeks ago, Cybertron had received a transwarp source from deep space. They'd traced the source back to this area in the galaxy where they had entered through some warp hole to where they are now.

Below them were three Maximals near their homing beacon. They were Optimus Primal and his crew who had been missing for years.

As soon as the ship landed, the captain went out on the landing pad to greet them.

"Optimus Primal, is that really you?"

"It is, sir," Optimus ran up and gave him a salute. "It's good to see that help has come."

"What's happened here?" asked the Maximal captain, looking at the grave with a symbol of a sword carved on it. "And what happened to most of your crew?"

"It's… a long story," Optimus replied.

The captain looked at Optimus, Cheetor, and Rattrap. Something had clearly happened and had affected them deeply.

"I see that you've been through a lot," the captain noted. "Let's get onboard and you can get some rest there."

"Thank you," Optimus shook the captain's hand.

"Though, before we leave," asked the captain. "I must inquire… where are the Predacons who stole the golden disc?"

"Here," Tarantulas and Waspinator walked out.

The captain's crew quickly trained their weapons on the two.

"Don't overload yourselves," Tarantulas grimaced. "I surrender myself."

"Waspinator also surrender!"

"You what?" asked the incredulous captain.

"Are your volume circuits malfunctioning?" Tarantulas had to repeat himself again. "I said I surrender! Anything to get off this miserable mudball!"

"I, er, um… very well!" the captain straightened himself out again. "Take these two inside to their holding cells!"

"Welcome home, Optimus," the beaming captain turned back to the Maximals. "Welcome home."

Rattrap stared down at the tombstone for Dinobot and the other fallen Maximals he had created.

Now that they were leaving, it would only be a matter of time before nature took its course. Erosion over the stone would eventually erase the Cybertronian characters sketched out on the piece of rock. The monument he had built to his fallen friends would be eventually lost to the sands of time forever by the time humanity fully emerged.

That thought was not a particularly comforting thought. But it was all he had now.

"Yeah, home…" muttered Rattrap.

-------------------

"_Rattrap…"_

_Rattrap paid no need._

"_Rattrap…" the voice grew louder, becoming more recognizable._

"_Silverbolt, is 'dat you?" Rattrap spun around._

"_It is I, old friend," Silverbolt stood before Rattrap. His body was transparent, judging from the glowing spark in the center of his body._

"_You… you're alive?" asked Rattrap._

"_Alas no," admitted Silverbolt. "I have gone on to the other side, as have two others who wish to speak with you."_

"_Hey there," Rhinox appeared by Rattrap's side._

"_Rhinox!" Rattrap embraced his old buddy. "Am I glad 'ta see you!"_

"_It's good to see you again," Rhinox held Rattrap tightly._

"_I knew you would enjoy seeing them again," a familiar voice descended upon them._

"_Dinobot?"_

_Rattrap gulped. Behind him was Dinobot. As Rattrap turned to face him, he was at a loss of words. He truly did not know what to say to his former comrade. There were so many things which had not been said… and he did not know where to start._

_Evidently Dinobot felt the same way._

"_So, eh, 'dis is where you're gonna be from now on?" asked Rattrap._

_Dinobot nodded. "It is here in the Matrix where I have finally found peace."_

"_Indeed," Silverbolt beamed. "The evil that had once invaded Dinobot's spark has been vanquished forevermore!"_

"_We've forgiven Dinobot," Rhinox told Rattrap. "He was, after all, under the influence of Rampage the entire time."_

"_Well…" Rattrap looked at Dinobot. "Guess this means you're happy now, and that's what matters."_

"_Our time grows shorter," Silverbolt told Rattrap. "I must be taking leave now… Blackarachnia awaits my return."_

"_Blacka—" Rattrap's jaw shot wide open. "Ya know what 'bolts… I'm not even gonna ask."_

"_Farewell Rattrap," Silverbolt waved, then disappeared in a flash of light._

"_I'd better be heading out as well," Rhinox announced, patting Rattrap on the back. "Take care, Rattrap."_

_He, too, vanished, leaving Rattrap with the ghostly spectre of Dinobot._

"_Guess you'll be going soon too, eh?" asked Rattrap._

"_Yes," Dinobot admitted. "Though I want to apologize for all that I put you and the others through."_

"_No need Dinobutt!" Rattrap playfully punched him in the arm. "You're already forgiven!"_

_Dinobot smiled. "Thank you."_

"_Will I ever see you again?" Rattrap asked curiously._

"_No," Dinobot confessed. "Not in this lifetime at least. When your time comes, you shall see us again."_

_Dinobot sighed, realizing that what he wanted to say next would require the sort of honesty and frankness he had not been used to in all his years as a Predacon._

"_I am glad I met you on earth," Dinobot told Rattrap. "You taught me the one thing that mattered more than all my years as a warrior."_

"_What's that?"_

"_Friendship."_

_Rattrap choked back something in the back of his throat. It was an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time. _

"_Right back at'cha!" Rattrap smiled._

_Joyously, the two friends grasped each other's hands in solidarity and amity._

"Rattrap, wake up! We're back!"

Rattrap rubbed both eyes. Cheetor was there in front of his bunk bed, shaking him excitedly.

"What's goin' on, pussycat?" Rattrap asked.

"Cybertron!" Cheetor announced. "We're back!"

Rattrap leaped off his bunk bed. Optimus Primal was there as well.

"They're going to throw us a parade," Optimus told Rattrap. "Personally, I'd like to skip it and go back to living a quiet life, but they did put a lot of effort into it."

"What do you say, Rattrap?" asked Cheetor. "You in?"

"Sure, why not?" beamed Rattrap. It was, after all, what Dinobot and the others would have wanted.

-------------------

The ceremonial procession came with great pomp and circumstance, something the three Maximals had been expecting.

On the streets, both 'bots and femme-bots cheered them on as they were showered with confetti from above. They stood on top of one of the stands which drove through the streets at a slow pace to trumpet their return.

Optimus Primal looked around at streets of Cybertron with a mixture of both joy and sadness… joy from the fact that they had finally made it back home. Sorrow… from how many lives had been lost in the Beast Wars. No matter what, their lives would never be the same again after this.

Cheetor and Rattrap, on the other hand, waved back at the crowd. Though Cheetor had also been through a lot, he was still young and the memories of these events would eventually fade from him as he moved on and lived his life. Rattrap, though still hurt by the events of days past, had come to accept that what happened had happened. He was now ready to move on with his life as well.

Amidst the cheers, the leading Prime of the Maximal Elders went before the three and presented them with the Matrix of Pax Cybertronia, the gleaming symbol of peace which had finally been achieved after several millennia of warfare between Cybertronians. Optimus, Rattrap, and Cheetor all looked at each other and nodded.

Without hesitation, the three Maximals took it and thrust it into the air to the cheers of millions.

_Fin._


End file.
